The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has dismissed claims that the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project is responsible for flooding in parts of Lagos State, insisting that the city's flooding challenges long predate the construction of the highway.
Speaking on the issue, Umahi said flooding has been a recurring problem in Lagos for many years and should not be attributed to the coastal road project.
"The floods in Lagos have been there before the coastal highway. It was there yesterday, it is there today, and it will also be there tomorrow," the minister said.
He compared Lagos' flooding to natural disasters experienced in other parts of the world, such as earthquakes, suggesting that certain environmental challenges are longstanding and cannot be linked to a single infrastructure project.
Umahi's remarks come amid growing public debate over whether the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has contributed to flooding in some coastal communities following heavy rainfall.
The minister maintained that the project was designed with appropriate engineering considerations and rejected assertions that it is responsible for the flooding being experienced in the state.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of the Federal Government's flagship infrastructure projects, intended to improve connectivity, stimulate economic activities and enhance transportation along Nigeria's Atlantic coastline.
However, the project has continued to attract public scrutiny, with some environmental experts and residents calling for further assessments of its potential environmental impact, while government officials insist that the road complies with approved engineering and environmental standards.
Flooding remains a persistent challenge in Lagos, particularly during the rainy season, with experts attributing the problem to a combination of heavy rainfall, inadequate drainage infrastructure, rapid urbanisation, tidal influences and indiscriminate waste disposal.
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