Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi in a statement during the second stakeholders meeting of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway (Section 1), held on Wednesday in Lagos, said that “Landmark is simply playing politics with politicians,” adding that “there is nothing to claim.”
The Minister made this statement while clarifying that none of Landmark’s infrastructure is impacted by the coastal development, acknowledging that though Landmark may have sublet the area along its shoreline to some individuals, it never had ownership of the shoreline and the individuals that the shoreline was sublet to are there illegally.
He said, “Mr President says that this development must have two factors. One is the fear of God, the second one is human face and that’s what we have tried to do. We’ve taken hard decisions. In some cases we have followed the gazetted routes. In other cases, we have realigned to the coastal line, majorly. And the coastal line from the shore, 250 metres by the Supreme Court judgement belongs to the federal government.
“I talk in particular about Landmark. There is none of his infrastructure that is affected. I agree that there are some people he sublet the place to, but the shoreline was never given to him by the Oniru family, so these people he sublet to, erected some caravans, makeshifts, so on and so forth within the shoreline. And if you go to the shoreline, you will see a demarcation of what was given to him and you will see a different colour of the sand and you see by reason of the sand filling, the point that the sand is different colour. So, we are dealing these people that he sublet the shoreline to illegally.”
“You know, some people darken counsel without knowledge, there is devil in details. When you condemn people, you bring judgement upon yourself, and that’s what he has done. And I think he is inciting some of the Southeast people that are not well informed. He’s inciting them and he gets them into trouble and he doesn’t go to fight for them.
“Wisdom is a defence. We know one is a defence. But wisdom gives life to those that practise it, and I want our people to have wisdom because I’m involved, and there is no inhumanity meted to Landmark. That matter should be buried because I was there.”
Umahi then said that contrary to Obi’s opinion, the construction of the coastal road would not affect any other ongoing projects in Nigeria, and that, as a matter of fact, more infrastructural projects that were linked to the coastal route had begun in the design stage.
He said, “I’m very happy that the President has directed me to begin the design of one of the you know, spurs linking to this coastal road and that is the Sokoto-Badagry. That was conceived by the president Shagari administration. It’s going to connect the ongoing Lagos-Badagry route that is being done by federal government and state government.
“There is also another route which is the Enugu-Abakili-Ogoja-Cameroon African Trans-Saharan route. The coastal road is also going to connect it. The Sokoto-Badagry is 1,000 kilometres. From the spur of the trans-saharan trade route down to Apo in Abuja, is 461 kilometres. It means anyone that is travelling from Sokoto to Lagos, will do it in about 10 hours, and travelling from southeast to Abuja will do it in a maximum of 5 hours.”
Umahi then urged Obi to commend President Tinubu on the coastal road as he said, “Opposition is not all about, you know, whether you’re right or wrong. When somebody has done something good, you can still criticise while commending the person. And so I ask him to commend Mr. President for this coastal route. And I adjoin those who have taken on him to ask him to apologise publicly, because this Costal route is the good for all of us.”
