Falana questions ₦15tn coastal highway cost, warns against voter suppression

File: Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has questioned the estimated ₦15tn cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, urging Nigerians to demand accountability from the Federal Government over the project.

Falana also warned political parties and candidates in Lagos State against election violence and voter suppression ahead of the 2027 general elections, calling for a united effort to protect the votes of eligible voters irrespective of their political affiliations or ethnic backgrounds.

He made the remarks at a public event in a video shared by News Central TV on Monday, in which he raised concerns about the reported change in the highway’s route and the funding of the project.

Falana questioned why a project initially conceived as a coastal highway was reportedly being extended inland, asking the government to explain how the funds earmarked for it would be spent.

He said, “The road, coastal road has now become land road, I’m sure you are aware.

“What I’m saying is that, after Ogun State, they now said they are going from Edo to go by land, because they can’t fund it. Again, we must now ask questions: What are the 15 trillion naira earmarked for that road?”

He said citizens had a responsibility to demand accountability from public officials, adding that a lack of scrutiny allowed those in government to act without sufficient public oversight.

“And that is the only way we can get these people to be accountable,” he said.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a flagship infrastructure project of the President Bola Tinubu administration, designed to connect Lagos with Calabar, Cross River State, along Nigeria’s southern coastline.

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The project is estimated to cost about ₦15tn upon completion and has attracted public debate over its cost, route and funding.

Falana’s comments on the highway formed part of a broader warning about the conduct of the 2027 elections, particularly in Lagos, where he expressed concern that voters could face intimidation and violence.

Addressing political candidates, he said the experience of the last election suggested that violence could be deployed to prevent some eligible voters from exercising their rights.

“Let me now warn the candidates: Going by what happened during the last election, violence will be introduced. Many people will not be allowed to vote, unless you guys are ready to form, regardless of your political parties, to form a group that will defend the vote of everybody in Lagos,” he said.

He urged candidates across political parties to work together to protect the electoral rights of voters, arguing that democratic participation should not be restricted by ethnicity or physical appearance.

“We didn’t fight for this rickety democracy, that somebody will look at your face: ‘Oh, you should not vote in this country,’” he said.

Falana also cautioned against the use of ethnic identity to intimidate voters, particularly people who may be perceived as not belonging to the Yoruba ethnic group in Lagos.

“And I want to beg you, if you are ready to defend the vote of everybody, and it’s very important, because those who cannot win elections, resort to violence, thuggery, where you come from, that you don’t look like a Yoruba man, therefore you must not vote. In Lagos, in Nigeria, that must not be allowed,” he said.