Lagos–Calabar Highway: why did the route leave the Ondo coast?*

"Weren't they aware of the East-West Highway from get-go?" Former Cross River governor Donald Duke asked it on Arise News this week. In Ondo State, 67 km of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway (Sections 4A and 4B) has been redesigned inland, away from the Ilaje coastline. From Ondo into Edo, the President has directed the road onto the existing East-West Road. Works Minister Dave Umahi says the ground made the coastal route too costly: peat 40–50 metres deep, then pits over 100 metres. Ilaje communities say they've been bypassed and have petitioned the President and the National Assembly. We set out what each side says, and what the public record doesn't show: no environmental assessment for the Ondo section, and no official route map, as of 15 October 2026. The new route might be the right call. Engineering should follow evidence. So show the working. #LagosCalabarCoastalHighway #Nigeria #ASTERISK*