By Faridat Salifu
The Federal Government’s directive to acquire a 500 meter wide corridor of land along four major highways for tolling and commercial infrastructure has raised questions about environmental sustainability and land use planning.
Announced by the Minister of Works, David Umahi on Saturday during the commissioning of Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on Saturday, the move is intended to enhance the viability of major road projects under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The affected roads include the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Abuja-Kano Road, Trans-Sahara Highway, and the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe Road.
President Bola Tinubu, according to Umahi, instructed that state governments along these routes allocate the specified corridor to support toll plazas, service areas, and other commercial amenities expected to generate revenue and improve investor confidence.
While the government frames the request as an economic and infrastructural strategy, environmental advocates warn that acquiring 500 meters of land on each side of vast road networks could lead to large-scale habitat disruption, deforestation, and displacement of local communities and biodiversity hotspots.
Some of the proposed routes traverse environmentally sensitive areas, including wetlands, forests, and agricultural zones.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, for example, cuts through coastal ecosystems that provide critical services such as erosion control, fisheries breeding grounds, and carbon storage.
Environmental experts argue that such wide corridors must undergo comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) to avoid long-term ecological damage and to comply with Nigeria’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act.
As we build infrastructure, we must balance economic returns with environmental responsibility, said an official with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Acquiring this much land without clear mitigation plans risks irreversible damage to both ecosystems and local livelihoods.
The Ministry of Works has yet to publicly release detailed ESIAs for the corridor acquisitions, though Umahi noted that land mapping has already begun in Lagos and will soon be extended to other states including Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto, and Kebbi.
In the broader context, the Federal Government has signaled its commitment to tolling major roads as a sustainable model for infrastructure financing.
But environmentalists urge caution, particularly in projects like the Benin–Asaba Superhighway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which also run through ecologically sensitive regions.
Stakeholders are calling for early consultation with communities, environmental regulators, and conservation experts to ensure that infrastructure expansion does not come at the cost of Nigeria’s natural heritage.