The federal government has warned that the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway could be closed if safety conditions around the project do not improve, following the death of a construction worker on the site.
Gatekeepers News reports that Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made this known during an interview on Channels Television after the fatal incident occurred at section one of the highway.
He explained that the government had earlier planned to shut the road in December but kept it open after an intervention by President Bola Tinubu to reduce traffic congestion.
Umahi said, “We were tempted to close the coastal highway in December, but the president directed that we should not.”
Explaining how the incident happened, the minister said a speeding vehicle left the road, hit two concrete solar poles and struck the worker, who died instantly. According to him, the worker was not on the main road when the accident occurred.
Describing the incident further, Umahi said, “Only today, the worst situation happened. The contractor was killed while working. He was totally off the carriageway. A very high-speed vehicle came, brought down two concrete solar poles, veered off again and killed the worker instantly.”
He added that the ministry is now reviewing the situation with the contractor to determine whether work can continue safely on the site. Umahi stressed that protecting the lives of workers remains the ministry’s top priority.
“I’m here to have a meeting with the contractor because if the lives of their workers are not safe, then we refuse to work,” he said.
The minister noted that allowing traffic to continue on the highway would depend on firm commitments from the Lagos State Government and security agencies to control traffic and ensure safety around the construction zone.
He said officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, the police and the Federal Road Safety Corps would need to be deployed to address speeding, wrong-way driving and other violations.
Umahi warned that the road would be closed if conditions fail to improve. He said, “If we’re able to calm the situation and appeal to the contractors, with assurances that Lagos state government, LASTMA, the police and road safety will be deployed to check these excesses and safeguard the workers, then we will allow traffic to flow.”
The minister added that the ministry would take tougher action if the situation does not change. He said, “But if after one week the situation remains the same — people driving against traffic and excessive speeding — then we have no choice than to close the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway section 1 until we finish, probably in April.”
