The youth wing of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has known as on the federal authorities to instantly reverse plans to divert the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from its unique coastal route, warning that the choice might set off protests and group reactions throughout the Niger Delta.
The group made the demand in Benin on Tuesday whereas reacting to an announcement by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, final week that the freeway could be redesigned and diverted inland to attach with the prevailing East-West Highway via Ondo State into Edo State.
Addressing journalists at a press convention, PANDEF National Youth Leader, Chief DonBen Donyegha, described the proposed realignment as a departure from the unique objective of the venture.
“Rerouting the project inland via the chronically failed East-West Road to avoid the coast is the opposite of what was promised and what justice requires,” he mentioned.
Donyegha mentioned the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was conceived as a transformative transport hall linking Lagos to littoral states and communities throughout the Niger Delta.
He argued that diverting the route would undermine the pursuits of coastal and oil-producing communities whose assets contribute considerably to Nigeria’s economic system.
According to him, the affected communities have endured many years of oil air pollution, fuel flaring and underdevelopment whereas persevering with to contribute to the nation’s financial sustenance.
He acknowledged that engineering challenges and development prices within the Niger Delta have been actual however insisted that they shouldn’t be used to justify excluding coastal communities from the venture.
“Engineering challenges and costs are real in the Niger Delta; they have always been. That should NEVER be an excuse to abandon the coastal communities that bear the heaviest burden of oil extraction and environmental pollution,” he mentioned.
The PANDEF youth chief added that the unique coastal alignment had been welcomed throughout the area as a result of it was anticipated to enhance connectivity and open up underserved communities.
He warned that diverting the freeway inland would renew longstanding considerations in regards to the exclusion of the Niger Delta from crucial infrastructure initiatives.
The group known as for the restoration of the freeway’s unique coastal alignment throughout all affected sections and demanded clear consultations with host communities, state governments and different regional stakeholders earlier than any main modifications to the route.
It additionally urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene personally, reverse the proposed diversion and be certain that all littoral oil-producing communities initially anticipated to learn from the venture remained linked via a correct coastal freeway.
PANDEF pressured that upgrading the prevailing East-West Highway shouldn’t be handled as an alternative choice to the coastal route, arguing that the inland highway had didn’t adequately serve the affected communities for years.
The youth wing warned that failure to reverse the proposed realignment might provoke avoidable reactions from youths and communities, doubtlessly threatening the relative peace and safety within the area.
It additionally mentioned the controversy might have political implications for the administration forward of the 2027 normal elections.
“The oil-bearing communities of the Niger Delta are watching. They will not accept being written out of a project built on the wealth extracted from their land, nor will they continue to beg cap in hand for their rightful share,” the group mentioned.
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