Ilajes, Itsekiris threaten legal action over plans to reroute Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway

Ilajes and Itsekiris, under the auspices of Ilaje - Itsekiri Niger Delta Indigenous People's Forum, IINDIPF, have threatened legal action over plans by the Federal Ministry of Works, to reroute the Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway, by cutting off Ilaje and Itsekiri riverine communities in Ondo and Delta States.

IINDIPF, in a  petition addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and  made available to Fresh Angle International Sunday October 18, said the proposal by the Honourable Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, to divert the Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway, from " its original Ilaje and Itsekiri Coastal communities ' corridor in Ondo and Delta States" was without recourse to due process.

The Arun Ilaje of Warri Kingdom, Chief Oyetakin Ezekiel, The Akogun of Odu Oretan, Chief Anthony Omagbemi, the National Coordinator/ Convener of IINDIPF, Aderojor Otoghojoba James Ereku Esq, Omadeli Jeffrey Esq, The Udomereyon of Warri Kingdom, Chief Claudius Ugbo, Dr. Michael Tidi Esq, Dennis Abugewa Mene Esq and Engr. Desmond Anomuogharan, in the petition, appealed to President Tinubu, to direct Engr. David Umahi, to " stick to the original routes as it concerns the Ilaje and Itsekiri coastal communities." 

The petition, reads: " ILAJE-ITSEKIRI NIGER DELTA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FORUM (IINDIPF)

No. 10 Felicity Road, Ugbuwangue Town, Warri. Delta State, Nigeria

ilajeitsekirindlf@gmail.com

08030987950

7th October, 2026.

His Excellency,

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. President and Commander In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, FCT.

Your Excellency,

UNEQUIVOCAL REJECTION OF THE PROPOSED DIVERSION, REALIGNMENT AND RE-ROUTING OF THE LAGOS-CALABAR COASTAL HIGHWAY ROAD PROJECT FROM IT'S ORIGINAL ILAJE COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN ONDO STATE AND ITS ORIGINAL ITSEKIRI COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN DELTA STATE BY SENATOR DAVID UMAHI, THE HONORABLE MINISTER OF WORKS.

We are members of the Ilaje-Itsekiri Niger Delta Indigenous People's Forum (IINDIPF), a socio-cultural and legal advocacy group for the advancement of justice, sustainable development, equal opportunities, peace, security, environmental protection and collective progress of the Ilaje ethnic nationality of Ondo State and the Itsekiri ethnic nationality of Delta State.

On behalf of ourselves, concerned indigenes, traditional institutions, community leaders, women groups, professional associations, students unions, youths organizations, clergymen and women, opinion leaders, and other relevant stakeholders of Ilaje and Itsekiri ethnic extraction both at home and in the diaspora, write to formally and respectfully express our vehement opposition and outright rejection of the proposed plans by the Honorable Minister of works, Senator David Umahi, to whimsically and unilaterally without recourse to due process re-route, alter and divert the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway road project, a brain child legacy project of your administration from it's original Ilaje and Itsekiri coastal communities corridor in Ondo State and in Delta State under the unreasonable and false pretext that the terrain is difficult and the cost is too expensive. The same and very familiar script and excuse which previous governments had used to perpetually deprive our people of their fair and equitable share of national infrastructural development projects across the federation in flagrant disregard of the constitutional federal character principle.

Your Excellency, from time immemorial, the Ilaje people of Ondo State and the Itsekiri ethnic nationality of Delta State who inhabited the coastlines have faced myriads of similar challenges with no hope in sight. Amongst the avalanche of fundamental problems confronting our people, one in particular stood out. This precarious challenge is the complete and total lack of access roads connecting these coastal communities to other parts of the two states or the federation in general. This grim and unfortunate reality has been the Achilles and bane of any meaningful infrastructural development within and around the communities in these particular coastal communities for generations now.

Your Excellency, it is noteworthy to mention at this point that the Ilaje ethnic nationality of Ondo State is the only oil producing tribe in Ondo State thereby guaranteeing the position and status of Ondo State as an oil producing state in Nigeria with its concomitant accruable benefits therewith. The National Revenue derivable from the quantum of crude oil production from Ilaje ancestral homeland of Ondo State since crude oil was discovered in commercial quantities over the years, have been largely responsible for the construction of several national infrastructural assets across Ondo State and other parts of Nigeria, the Lagos-Calabar highway project is also not an exception.

It is also interesting to note that the Itsekiri ethnic nationality in Delta State on the other hand equally shares the same unfortunate fate of complete lack of government presence in terms of meaningful infrastructural development projects within and around the Itsekiri coastal communities of Delta State with their Ilaje brothers and sisters in Ondo State despite the huge National Revenue derivable from the quantum of crude from Itsekiri ancestral homeland that fortifies and cements Delta State's status as an oil producing state with its enormous financial and economic benefits to the state and the country at large.

It is an open secret and an incontrovertible fact Your Excellency, that the Itsekiri ethnic nationality is the second highest producer of crude oil in Nigeria with over 35% and is number one in Delta State with over 60%. Majority of the funds the state and federal governments are using to run the government of Nigeria, build national infrastructural assets across Delta State and Nigeria, are derived from Itsekiri ancestral homeland. Yet, just like their Ilaje counterparts in Ondo State, the Itsekiri coastal communities have never witnessed any construction of access roads to them, neither are there any basic social amenities such as electricity, portable drinking water, good schools, standard health care facilities, etc that can improve the lives of the people or transform their communities.

Your Excellency, while our people were pondering over when their hardship and what appears to be a deliberate and an institutionalized marginalization policy of previous governments would come to an end, news filtered in that you have in your wisdom and leadership insight decided to bring succour to the Ilaje coastal communities in Ondo State and to the Itsekiri coastal communities in Delta State through the construction of the Lagos-Calabar highway road project. The indigenes of Ilaje coastal communities such as Olosumeta through Araromi, Abe-Oroyo, Ogogoro, Ogbonla, Akpata, Awoye, all in the coastlines of Ondo State and indigenes of Ugbege, Ogheye, Orere, Agogboro and Ode-Ugborodo all Itsekiri coastal communities in Delta State were so excited that your government has come to change their stories for good.

Your Excellency, while our people were still in their joyous mood, and anticipating a new dawn in their lives and communities, Senator David Umahi, the Honourable Minister of Works did the unthinkable. He decided to divert the Lagos-Calabar Highway project from its original routes in Ilaje and Itsekiri Coastal communities under the false pretext that the terrain is too difficult and the cost of constructing the same road which all along has passed all technical, engineering, and environmental evaluations before being subsequently approved by the National Assembly was now too expensive. Senator David Umahi who ought reasonably to vigorously pursue this landmark project aimed at correcting the injustice of the past cannot wake up and decide to abuse his official administrative and discretionary powers without recourse to rule of law, national interest and public good of the majority of the people that lives in this coastal communities. Where there are concerns concerning shortfalls or deficit in financing such an important project, the best thing to do is to approach Mr President for a review of the cost of the project and not to abandon it. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended), copiously made provisions for supplementary budget by Your Excellency to be sent to the National Assembly for consideration and approval. Senator David Umahi cannot put cost far and above the public interest and the enormous economic benefits that this significant project would bring to the Ilaje and Itsekiri people living in these coastal communities, both states and the country in general. Simply throwing up his hands in the air without thinking about the greater good the road would bring to the lives of the inhabitants of these coastal communities and the nation in general is not only a prove of his lack of empathy for the sufferings of our people, it is a show of a lack of national patriotism required to run a diverse country such as ours.

The road would not only end the decades of deprivation of the two tribes in terms of the lack of presence of National projects in the coastal communities despite all they have contributed to national development and revenue but it will also provide easy access for the free flow of human movement and transportation of goods and services, boost trade and commerce, attract investments, enhance tourism, reduce unavoidable deaths that is rampant with boat transportation, improve security, provide jobs and open up the coastal communities to other parts of the country. The benefits accruable from this road when finally completed, far outweighs any cost that Senator David Umahi is putting forward as reasons to deny the two tribes that lays the golden eggs that sustains this nation their legitimate and constitutional rights to benefit from such a federal project of your administration.

Your Excellency, we therefore respectfully appeal to you to direct Senator David Umahi to maintain statusquo concerning the original routes of the Lagos-Calabar highway road project. The timing of this decision is not only suspicious and insensitive considering the current deplorable states of major federal highways in the South-South region under Senator David Umahi watch where passengers and commuters are groaning and lamenting due to his failure to do the needful to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians on that road, his decision is clearly against your Renewed Hope agenda to bring an end to the long suffering of the Ilaje and Itsekiri people who for long have been left to bear untold hardship in the midst of abundant contributions to national development and revenue. It is a good and just thing that the Ilaje and Itsekiri who voted for Mr President in 2023 be allowed to reap the fruits of the dividends of democracy which they have sown. Senator David Umahi's ill time decision, coupled with his poor handling of the federal highways in the South-South region, is just like adding salt to an injury.

We urge Your Excellency to act in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience.

We wholeheartedly support the position of other critical stakeholders of Ilaje and Itsekiri extraction who have spoken against the move by Senator David Umahi. Your Excellency, should Senator David Umahi decides to oppress our people and deny them their rights to benefit from this project you brought to end the decades of neglect and deprivations in our homelands, we would be left with no other options but to seek legal redress to protect the inalienable rights of the Ilaje people living in the coastal communities of Ondo State and that of the Itsekiri living in the coastal communities in Delta State. We must state it here that while we are not opposed to any idea that would bring development to other parts of Nigeria, we would however resist any attempt to use such an idea to deny the Ilaje and Itsekiri people who the the project was meant to uplift their lives and communities abinitio their legitimate constitutional rights to inclusive government and freedom from discrimination.

While we count on Your Excellency's capacity to intervene in this matter by directing Senator David Umahi to stick to the original routes as it concerns the Ilaje and Itsekiri coastal communities in Ondo State and Delta State, kindly accept the warmest regards of our esteemed considerations.

MAY WISE COUNSEL PREVAIL.

Signed

Chief Hon. Oyetakin Ezekiel, The Arun Ilaje of Warri Kingdom.

Chief Anthony Omagbemi, The Akogun of Odu Oretan

Aderojor Otoghojoba James Ereku Esq National Coordinator/Convener

Omadeli Jeffrey Esq

Chief Claudius Ugbo The Udomereyon of Warri Kingdom

 Hon. (Dr) Michael Tidi Esq

Dennis Abugewa Mene Esq

Engr. Desmond Anomuogharan

Cc

His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Dr. Godswill Akpabio The President of the Senate, 3 Arms Zone, Abuja, FCT.

Hon. Dr. Tajudeen Abbas Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Abuja FCT.

His Excellency Governor Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa, Government House, Akure,

His Royal Majesty, Oba Federick Obateru Akinruntan (Okoro Ajija 1) The Oba of Ugbo Kingdom Ugbo Town, Ondo State

Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, Senator representing Delta South Senatorial District, Abuja FCT.

Senator Dayo Faduyile Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District Abuja FCT.

RT. Hon. Sheriff Oborowvore, Executive Governor Delta State, Government House, Asaba, Delta State

Senator David Umahi,. Honorable Minister of Works,. Federal Ministry of Works, Mabuahi, Abuja FCT

His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III CFR, The Olu of Warri. Aghofen, Warri, Delta State.

Hon. Chief Thomas Ereyetomi Member representing Warri Federal Constituency. Federal House of Representatives, Abuja, FCT.

Hon. Donald KimiKanboh Ojogo Member representing Ilaje/ Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, Federal House of Representatives Abuja FCT.

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