PANDEF youths reject Lagos-Calabar highway diversion, warn of 2027 fallout

The youth wing of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has rejected the Federal Government's plan to reroute the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the change turns its back on the coastal communities the road was meant to serve.

Speaking at a press conference in Benin City on Tuesday, PANDEF National Youth Leader DonBen Donyegha said the decision is not a small engineering adjustment but a betrayal of the project's purpose.

The 750-kilometre highway was presented as a coastal road running from Lagos through the riverine states of the Niger Delta to Calabar.

According to the group, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said President Bola Tinubu directed that the road be diverted onto the existing East-West Road rather than follow a new coastal alignment. Umahi was quoted as citing difficult terrain, deep pits and cost in parts of Ogun and Ondo states.

Why it matters

PANDEF's youth wing argues that the communities along the original coastal route are the same ones that have hosted oil production for decades while dealing with pollution, gas flaring and poor development.

Donyegha said upgrading the East-West Road is welcome as a separate project, but it cannot replace a coastal road meant to open up oil-bearing communities.

"It cannot be used as a substitute that effectively bypasses the coastal communities this signature project was meant to open up," he said.

The group also said later assurances that the project is "not abandoned" do not erase the directive or its effect, which it says cuts off large stretches of the original corridor.

It asked President Tinubu to intervene personally and cancel the directive to divert the highway through Ondo State, returning it to the coastal alignment in all affected sections.

PANDEF's youth wing also wants documented engagement with host communities, state governments and regional stakeholders before any further major realignment, and public confirmation that every coastal oil-bearing community will still be served by a proper coastal route.

What happens next

The group warned that failure to reverse the decision could trigger reactions from youths and communities across the Niger Delta, which it said would threaten the region's peace and security and affect the administration's chances in the 2027 elections.

Donyegha said the group is open to dialogue but will not stay silent while its communities are sidelined.

There has been no immediate public response from the Federal Government or the Ministry of Works to the group's demands.