President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the first phase of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Lagos State.
Speaking on Saturday, May 31, 2025, Tinubu reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to local content, technology transfer, and the empowerment of Nigerians.
The president directed the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and other ministers overseeing projects across the country to ensure full compliance with the laws on local content, training of Nigerians, and technology transfer.
He emphasised that the government would no longer compensate developers who failed to observe legal building setbacks and approvals, stressing the need for urban planning and the rule of law.
Tinubu said: “Let me warn all the developers that the federal government will enforce setbacks. If not for anything but for the interest of the nation.
“Developers who fail to get approvals will not be compensated. We have gazetted and published the setback, and we will enforce it in any way possible.”
Tinubu acknowledged Engineer Ronald Chagoury’s role in halting the advance of the Atlantic Ocean and salvaging Victoria Island and Ikoyi, urging more support for the future in “doing the impossible” in building Nigeria’s infrastructure.
“I said that we would do it, and we did. We averted a disaster greater than a tsunami on Victoria Island and in Ikoyi,” Tinubu added.
The president also appealed to Nigerians to be more patient with the government, saying: “I want to appeal to all Nigerians that hope is here. Our economy is recovering.”
President Tinubu thanked the minister of works, contractors, and Nigerians, particularly those in Lagos, for supporting the projects and urged them to protect and maintain them for posterity.
Speaking, Umahi noted that the federal government spent N18 billion compensating all those affected by the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
Umahi said the president directed that all projects must consider the well-being of Nigerians and issues of sustainability.
Governors of Lagos, Delta, Ogun, Edo, Bayelsa, Borno, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Cross River, and Imo attended the event.
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, the Chagoury brothers, and contractors, among others, witnessed the event.
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