Lagos-Calabar Highway Diversion Could Hurt 2027 Elections, PANDEF Youths Warn

The National Youth Wing of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) warned that diverting the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway inland could have political consequences for the federal government in the 2027 elections. At a press conference in Benin City on October 20, national youth leader DonBen Donyegha called the change a betrayal of the project’s purpose and of oil-bearing coastal communities, warning that it could provoke reactions and threaten peace in the Niger Delta. He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cancel the East-West Road diversion and restore the original coastal alignment, saying upgrades to that road should be a separate, complementary project.