Umahi, stakeholders inspect Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

—As Showunmi applauds project, calls for timely completion

By Jimoh Babatunde

In a governmental civilization often marked by crisp divisions and endless bickering, Otunba Segun Showunmi, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has chosen a antithetic path.

On Monday, helium stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, and civilian nine leaders to inspect the ambitious Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, and helium didn’t mince words successful his praise of the multi-billion Naira project.

“This is simply a bequest project,” Showunmi declared, his dependable carrying a premix of admiration and urgency.

“We successful opposition, connected behalf of Nigerians, person seen what has been done truthful far. Now we are successful a hurry for the completion date.”

For Showunmi, authorities should not beryllium a stumbling artifact to nationalist development. He urged Nigerians to abstracted governance from partisanship, stressing that what matters astir is the semipermanent payment of transformative projects.

“Ideological differences successful governmental speech request not beryllium witchcraft,” helium said. “It becomes witchcraft erstwhile you presume your state indispensable not marque advancement due to the fact that of politics.”

The PDP stalwart, who besides convenes the Alternative Movement, was peculiarly impressed by the usage of reinforced factual successful the operation — a method helium erstwhile dismissed arsenic a cost-cutting shortcut.

He said helium erstwhile asked his friends successful Grmany duringa sojourn “why is it that the roads you conception successful Europe and America volition last. And the ones we are constructing successful our country, we perpetually person to spell backmost and repair and repair.

“Little did I cognize that this operation was with concrete, I thought it was conscionable a inexpensive mode of getting by? When they were talking astir it.”

Seeing its durability up close, helium admitted helium had underestimated its value.

“Coming astir today, seeing the level of reinforcement, the benignant of enactment going on, the extent of the concreting — if I articulation you successful thanking HITECH, I would not beryllium missing it connected behalf of our country,” helium said.

But Showunmi’s admiration came with a enactment of caution: Nigeria cannot spend to fto the road resistance connected endlessly, similar the long-forgotten Sokoto-Badagry roadworthy initiated nether President Shehu Shagari.

“We don’t privation this task to beryllium 1 of those perpetually successful a authorities of ‘working, working, and working,’” helium warned.

While commending the enactment of the curate of Works, helium said “you person shown america that erstwhile you person a competent idiosyncratic that has the close accomplishment acceptable and has the close acquisition successful a liable position, everybody benefits.

“This roadworthy is not going to beryllium utilized by the President and it’s not going to beryllium utilized by him alone. I’m definite you’re not adjacent going to usage it alone. This is simply a roadworthy that each Nigerians, whether you are an funny politician, you are a bystander, you are an absorption president, oregon you are adjacent 1 of those that spell each implicit the satellite saying thing is happening to Nigeria, volition use.

“For Showunmi, though, the absorption remains connected what the roadworthy means for Nigeria’s aboriginal — accrued spot values, stronger tourism potential, and pridefulness successful nationalist achievement. “When the roadworthy is yet completed, each of america volition beryllium capable to say, hooray, we person thing to amusement the satellite that we are doing here,” helium said, with a uncommon optimism that chopped crossed governmental lines.

For Umahi, the antithetic amusement of enactment from an absorption person was a validation of the government’s efforts.

He invited critics and stakeholders alike to measure the task openly.

“I privation Nigerians to admit what the President is doing. Let them measure it, and if it is unprofitable, they person to archer the story,” the curate said.

The project, however, has not been without challenges. Umahi recounted however engineers had to redesign a conception of the road aft encountering a 50-year-old garbage dump stretching 2 kilometres and 10 metres deep, astatine a outgo of N15 billion.

He besides dismissed claims of amerciable demolition astatine Landmark Beach, insisting lone surrounding shanties were affected.

While besides dismissing allegations that the national authorities illegally encroached connected backstage spot of Win Homes, Umahi explained that the Lagos State authorities had already revoked and gazetted the said land.

“The substance has gone beyond the Ministry of Wo...