African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has vowed to reverse the naming of highways, public institutions and other national assets after President Bola Tinubu and other public officials if elected president in 2027.
Sowore made the declaration in a statement shared on his Facebook page on Friday while reacting to the Federal Government’s decision to rename the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway after Tinubu.
He wrote, “The naming of highways, national institutions, and public assets after officials of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime that impoverished Nigeria and those who enabled its decline will be reversed as a matter of urgency under a #Sowore2027 administration.”
His reaction followed the announcement by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, that the Federal Government had renamed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway.
Umahi made the announcement on Thursday during a media briefing in Abuja, where he said the decision was taken in recognition of Tinubu’s long-standing vision for the project.
According to the minister, the Ministry of Works approved the renaming after consultations with the ministry’s leadership.
“That (coastal) highway is named President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway. By the powers conferred on me as Minister of Works, in consultation with my Permanent Secretary, the Minister of State, directors and staff of the ministry, we decided to name it after him because of his dream for it.
“He had that dream about 27 years back as governor of Lagos State. It is one thing to dream and another thing to have the grace of God to actualise that dream,” Umahi had said.
The minister also announced that Tinubu approved a 400-kilometre extension of the Fourth Legacy Highway, bringing the project from 700 kilometres to 1,100 kilometres, alongside the reconstruction of sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other major road projects.
Sowore recently pledged to abolish the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and scrap the National Youth Service Corps in their current forms if elected president.
He argued that tertiary institutions should conduct their own admissions under a transparent, merit-based system, while the NYSC should be replaced with a voluntary two-year National Job Corps focused on employment, entrepreneurship and practical skills.