Ilaje stakeholders warn the Federal Government against diverting the coastal road inland, vowing to resist the alleged exclusion.
The people of Ilaje in Ondo State have warned the federal government against the proposed diversion and excision of their communities from the coastal road construction will not tolerated, saying that such moved would not be taken lightly by them.
They lamented the diversion is not only criminal but out rightly an insult against a people and state which is the fifth largest oil producing in the country.
Speaking at a press conference on behalf of the Committee of Lawyers and Stakeholders in Ondo State held in Lagos on Thursday, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin, alleged that the injustice being done to coastal areas in Ondo State by the exclusion from the road is criminal and wrong.
He insisted the coastal road would ordinarily have been a life-saver for his people who have had no access to clean water, no roads and no electricity since oil was discovered on their land in 1968.
He specifically accused the Minister of Works, Prof. David Umahi of wickedness for unjustly removing Ilaje Communities along the cost from the road by diverting the construction of the road to Edo State which has no community along the coast line.
Enikuomehin alleged that what the minister of works has done to the coastal communities is injustice, which violates provision of Section 42 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) which forbids the discrimination of a People in respect of their ethnic group, and it should be addressed immediately.
He wondered what offence has the Ilaje communities which falls under the coastal communities committed to warrant the bypass of their area.
According to him, it is a known fact that of all the coastal states in Nigeria, Ondo State unarguably has the longest coastline of about 80 – 100km.
He maintained that, the action the group has taken, is a prelude to other actions, warning that they would explore all options to correct the injustice, while legal will be the last option.
“It is therefore reasonable that the coastal highway will pass through the coastline communities of Ondo State before getting to Delta State and on through the other states to Calabar.”
He stated the argument put up by Umahi that constructing the road through the coastal areas of Ondo State is very expensive is not tenable.
“It is however very shocking that the concept of the coastal highway has now been bastardized and balkanized by the Ministry of Works under the supervision of Senator David Umahi. More than 60% of the coastal communities in Ilaje LGA of Ondo State have now been bypassed and sidelined.
“Available records and data reveal that the coastal road has now assumed a new name as “INLAND HIGHWAY ROAD” when it comes to the Ondo State communities. This is courtesy the Minister of Works and his Ministry. The road now passes through Oke-Upare in Ondo State to link communities in Ovia North and Ovia West of Edo State so as to accommodate Gelegele community in Edo State which is about 10 – 20km from the coastline. It is not in dispute that Edo State does not have a single coastal community that adjoins the sea.”
He maintained that “the road must remain Coastal, and any attempt to make it ‘un-coastal,’ will receive an ‘un-coastal’ reaction from us.”
Enikuomehin said the Federal Ministry of Works and the Minister have argued that the cost of constructing the road through these Ilaje communities is exorbitant. “It has been erroneously canvassed that it will cost the Federal Government of Nigeria more money if the road were to traverses through the coastline of Ondo State, which is Ilaje communities. This lame argument is against the weight of evidence in respect of the road.”
He maintained that available and indisputable facts reveal that navigating the road through Ugbonla in Ondo State to Escravos in Delta (on a straight line) will take about 60 – 75km, whereas the detour to inland in Edo from Ebute-Ipare-Ovia North, Ovia West – Gelegele in Edo State to Warri in Delta is about 130 – 150km.
Enikuomehin added that While the cost of building 1km road on the axis of Ugbonla through the coastal communities to Escravos will cost ₦ 4 Billion to ₦7.5 Billion per km, that of constructing same in severe swampy with massive bridges through Oke-Upare to Gelegele in Edo to Warri will cost ₦7.5 Billion to ₦12 Billion per km.”
He maintained the estimated cost of the road through Ugbonla route is about ₦240 billion to ₦450 billion, while the detour to Edo State will cost a whooping sum of ₦970 billion to ₦1.5 trillion.
“What is more, while the alignment on Ugbonla in Ondo to Escravos in Delta is straight forward and aligns with the concept of “Coastal Highway”, the detour to Edo State is volatile, eroding immediate shoreline and renders the concept of coastline a mirage.”