Civil society and community groups across the Niger Delta region have called on the Federal Government to immediately restore the original route alignment of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to prevent the exclusion of key riverine communities in Ondo, Delta, and Bayelsa states.
​The appeal was made in a joint press statement issued on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in Abuja by the Niger Delta Concerned Stakeholders for Accountable Security and Progress (NDCSASP) alongside the 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta.
​Speaking on behalf of the coalition during a briefing, national spokesperson Enisuo Oruomoni expressed concern over plans to divert critical sections of the highway inland, incorporating portions of the existing East-West Road, rather than running directly along the coast.
The groups argued that bypassing the coastline leaves major riverine populations, including the Ilaje, Itsekiri, and Ijaw communities, isolated from the project’s economic benefits.
​”The primary purpose of a coastal highway is to open up our oceanfronts, link isolated riverine communities, and stimulate maritime trade, tourism, and port developments,” Oruomoni said. “Rerouting the project inland defeats its founding vision and deprives our people of long-overdue infrastructure development, shoreline protection, and basic connectivity.”
​The intervention follows comments by the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, regarding plans to merge sections of the project with the East-West Road to navigate complex terrain and deep swamps.
While the Presidency clarified on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, that the 750-km coastal road remains intact and the East-West Road repairs serve as a complementary project, regional stakeholders maintain that the physical construction must strictly follow the coastal shoreline.
​The coalition called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene directly and direct contractor execution back to the gazetted coastal master plan, ensuring that riverine communities receive equal infrastructural additions such as beachfront roads, bridges, and shore protection systems.
