Tinubu to Inaugurate Section I of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on Saturday

President Bola Tinubu is set to inaugurate Section I of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on Saturday, May 31, as part of his multi-day working visit to Lagos, the Presidency announced on Monday.

The 700-kilometre highway, designed to stretch from Lagos to Calabar across several coastal states, is among the flagship infrastructure projects of the Tinubu administration. It is expected to open up new corridors for trade, tourism, and regional integration across Nigeria’s South-South and South-West regions.

Section I, which spans from Lagos’ Victoria Island to the Lekki Deep Sea Port area, covers approximately 47.4 kilometres and is being constructed with reinforced concrete pavement for greater durability. The corridor is projected to feature 10 lanes in total, including two service lanes, and will integrate future rail and fiber optic infrastructure.

According to officials, this section alone is expected to reduce travel time to the Lekki Free Trade Zone and the Deep Sea Port by nearly 50%, boosting the movement of goods and services and attracting investments into the rapidly expanding Lekki-Epe industrial corridor.

In a statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the inauguration will coincide with several other landmark infrastructure events.

These include the commissioning of the Lekki Deep Sea Port Tax Credit Concrete Road, the flag-off of Section II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, and the commencement of construction on the 7th Axial Road—another strategic artery designed to ease urban congestion and improve connectivity in Lagos.

Beyond the South-West, President Tinubu will also conduct virtual inaugurations of several completed road projects in northern Nigeria. These include the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejia Section II Road, Yakasai-Zalli Road, the Kano Northern By-pass, and major segments of the Zaria-Hunkuyi-Dabai-Kafur-Malumfashi-Dayi-Yashe-Gidan Mutum Daya highway network.

President Tinubu is scheduled to arrive in Lagos on Tuesday to participate in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which he currently chairs.

The golden jubilee celebration, which began in Accra in April, will continue in Lagos with a symbolic reenactment of the 1975 founding declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island.

The event will feature a commemorative address by former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), the only surviving signatory of the ECOWAS founding charter. ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Omar Touray will deliver the welcome remarks, while former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, will lead a panel of experts in reviewing the regional body’s 50-year journey.

President Tinubu is also expected to observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House Mosque, Dodan Barracks, before returning to Abuja.