Coastal Road: IPOIDU Calls for Retention of Original Master Plan
By Olusegun HOSEA.14th October, 2026
The Indigenous People of Ilaje Development Union (IPOIDU) has called for the retention of the original master plan for the ongoing coastal road project being constructed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Speaking at an emergency meeting convened by the union today, its leadership expressed concern over reports that the road project had been diverted towards Edo State, leaving communities along the coastal areas of Ilaje behind.
They expressed concern that the project had passed through Ogun State successfully without any diversion and questioned the rationale behind the situation in Ondo State, where the project appeared to have been diverted away from the coastal shores of Ilaje land.
The union said that communities along the coastal line, including Ogogoro, Ramasiloh, Orioke-Iwamimo, Kugbanre, Seja Oke, Odoogun, Oloja, Gbabijo, Lepe, Olootu, Ilepete, Ikorigho, and many others, had been cut off from the project.
According to one of the association’s leaders in the diaspora, the union had spoken with the Ondo State Government, which informed them that the original master plan for the project had not been altered. The government also reportedly explained that the minister informed them that executing the project across the terrain would cost more than one trillion naira. Furthermore, the areas were said to have soil conditions extending approximately 30 metres below the surface, making it necessary to review the project and leaving the Ilaje communities in the coastal areas behind.
The IPOIDU organisation is currently planning to express its grievances through a protest against the alleged diversion from the original master plan. The union also intends to call on the minister in charge of the project to take the necessary action before the situation deteriorates.
IPOIDU is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the progress and development of Ilaje communities. Registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, the organisation has members across the globe. It has resolved to demand justice and pursue other progressive activities that would promote development in the area.
According to the union, it has also agreed to investigate all abandoned Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) projects in the region that were intended to promote development. The aim is to ensure progress in the area, as the union believes it is high time Ilaje land benefited from major capital development projects.
In the words of the union’s leadership at the meeting, companies and contractors awarded contracts for projects intended to develop the area but subsequently abandoned them would be subjected to scrutiny and interrogation. The union maintained that Ilaje land should not be denied the development enjoyed by other advanced cities, such as Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The union, however, used the opportunity to call on all Ilaje indigenes, both at home and abroad, to unite, cooperate, and support the development cause it is championing. It expressed confidence that the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which initiated the coastal road project, would understand the importance of ensuring its timely completion.
