FG Backs Lagos–Abidjan Highway But Rejects ECOWAS Design, Flags Heads-of-State Decision Needed

Nigeria has restated its commitment to the 1,028-kilometre Lagos–Abidjan corridor highway while raising design and funding concerns that could delay the project further.

Works Minister David Umahi gave the assurances on Thursday during a meeting in Abuja with delegations from ECOWAS and the African Development Bank. He confirmed that the project has President Tinubu’s backing and that Nigeria’s section will be built using reinforced concrete pavement with three lanes on each carriageway — a departure from the two-lane design that ECOWAS approved.

Nigeria has rejected the ECOWAS design as impractical and is developing its own framework tailored to local conditions. Beyond the design dispute, Umahi flagged an unresolved problem with the corridor’s structure: the distribution of road length across the five participating countries — Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire — is unequal, and he said resolving that requires a heads-of-state decision, not a ministerial one.

“On the engineering side, there are unresolved issues. The distribution of corridor length across countries is unequal and can only be resolved at the level of heads of state,” Umahi said. He added that funding decisions also need to be taken at that level before procurement can begin.

Nigeria’s section connects at Badagry. The minister said the Badagry stretch — 162 kilometres — has already been awarded and is ongoing, and ties into the Sokoto–Badagry superhighway and Lagos–Calabar coastal highway projects. Section one of the Lagos–Calabar highway (47.47km in Lagos) is complete and scheduled for commissioning in May.

AfDB delegation head Salawou Mike Moukaila said the bank has prioritised the project and is conducting an identification mission across 25 countries to develop a financing framework, with strong co-financier interest.

Sources: The Cable, The Nation, Leadership NG