First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has defended the federal government’s coastal road infrastructure programme, arguing that the rising cost of air travel globally justifies President Bola Tinubu’s push to develop alternative transportation routes across Nigeria.

Speaking on the matter, the First Lady noted that the high cost of flights is not a problem peculiar to Nigeria but a global phenomenon affecting travellers everywhere, including those in developed nations abroad, and that the Tinubu administration’s investment in coastal road infrastructure represents a forward-thinking response to that reality.

Her comments appear designed to frame the coastal road project as part of a broader transportation strategy aimed at providing Nigerians with affordable and accessible alternatives to air travel, which has become increasingly out of reach for ordinary citizens following the sharp depreciation of the naira and the soaring cost of aviation fuel in recent years.

The coastal road project, which has been championed by President Tinubu as a signature infrastructure legacy programme, is intended to open up Nigeria’s coastline, stimulate economic activity in riverine communities and reduce the burden of transportation costs on Nigerian businesses and households.

However the First Lady’s remarks have drawn mixed reactions from Nigerians, with some applauding the government’s infrastructure focus while others questioned the logic of citing global flight costs as justification for road construction, arguing that the more pressing issue remains the government’s inability to make domestic air travel affordable for ordinary Nigerians in the short term.

Critics have also pointed out that while long term infrastructure investment is welcome, millions of Nigerians require immediate relief from the crushing cost of transportation, food and basic living expenses that have worsened significantly under the current economic climate.