By John Odhe, YENAGOA
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has joined calls to reject any attempt to divert the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from its original alignment, warning that President Bola Tinubu would not get support of the South-South in the 2027 elections if the move is not reversed.
The National President of the IYC, Comrade Doubra Okotete, stated this on Thursday, October 15, 2026, while reading a statement at Ijaw House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during a press conference organised by the council’s 10th National Executive Committee.
The council called on President Tinubu to direct the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, to maintain the original route of the coastal highway as approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), insisting that Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states must not be excluded from the project.
The IYC expressed displeasure over statements attributed to Umahi suggesting that the highway could be diverted from Ondo State towards the East-West Road, arguing that the reported proposal would undermine the original coastal alignment and deny the Niger Delta the benefits of the project.
The council declared that the Ijaw nation and other ethnic nationalities in the South-South would not accept the diversion under any circumstances, describing arguments about financial constraints and difficult terrain as unacceptable.
According to the IYC, the Niger Delta contributes significantly to Nigeria’s oil and gas wealth and should not be denied critical infrastructure on the grounds of cost or geographical challenges, particularly when other regions have benefited from major federal road projects.
The council maintained that the coastal highway must follow its original alignment through Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, warning that any deviation would amount to short-changing the region.
To counter arguments that the Niger Delta’s swampy terrain makes major road construction difficult or too expensive, the IYC cited several infrastructure projects being undertaken by state governments and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The council offered to sponsor a fully funded visit for former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, to Bayelsa State to inspect projects it said demonstrated the feasibility of constructing roads and bridges across difficult terrain.
Among the projects cited was the 21-kilometre Nembe-Brass Road, which the council said includes more than 15 bridges across Atlantic swamps and is being constructed under Governor Douye Diri’s administration.
It also highlighted the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie Road project, including a completed 630-metre bridge across the Nun River, and the Ekeremor-Agge Road leading to the proposed Agge Seaport.
