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The Labour Party's presidential bannerman in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has once again criticised the ongoing Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
In a lengthy social media post sighted by Pulse on Tuesday, April 30, the two-term former governor of Anambra State described the project as a 'misplaced priority.'
Obi condemned the demolition of business structures and establishments that were necessitated due to the commencement of the project.
He said, "The sight of this insensitive demolition is heart-wrenching. Livelihoods are being wiped away, lifetime investments are being wasted, and jobs are disappearing as bulldozers roar through. The homes of the elderly are being overturned by the power of bulldozers.
"This hasty flag-off defies the widespread outcry by the public, especially business and property owners directly affected by the project. Nobody knows the outcry that will accompany this project as it progresses towards poor rural landscapes."
Obi raises concern over statistics of jobless Nigerians
Obi recounted that the federal government's actions would cost thousands of Nigerians their jobs "with investments above $200 million at risk."
He lamented that over 100,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector, along with 80 small businesses and their 4000 mostly youth employees, face imminent extinction.
However, Obi acknowledged the economic value of roads but reiterated that insecurity and poverty have become rampant and should be treated with absolute attention rather than a job-losing project.
"We cannot afford another expensive abandoned project. Nigeria's urgent development needs are more real and essential. We do not need landscape decoration escapades," Obi said.