Former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate for the Peoples Redemption Party in the 2027 general elections, Donald Duke has criticised Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri’s defence of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, describing the governor as a “local champion” for allegedly viewing the controversial project through a regional rather than national lens.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Diri had rejected Mr Duke’s claim that the coastal highway project is unbuildable because of Niger Delta’s swampy terrain, citing roads and bridges constructed in similar conditions in Bayelsa. But during an interview on Arise TV Morning Show on Thursday, Mr Duke argued that the project was financially impractical.
He questioned its necessity and accused the federal government of pursuing what he described as a land grab under the guise of coastal road construction. “If the governor of Bayelsa did say so, I don’t know the fellow, but if he did say so, I think he is just being a local champion,” Mr Duke said.
“He is seeing within the ambit of his state…I am looking at the totality of Nigeria.” Mr Duke argued that the federal government should assess the project against the country’s financial capacity and competing development needs rather than regional interests. “We don’t have the kind of money to do it,” he said.
The former governor renewed his opposition to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, insisting that the project’s proposed route through the Niger Delta raised questions about its affordability, necessity and eventual destination. He argued the project should be called the Lagos Coastal Highway, saying its name implied a connection to Calabar that he doubted would materialise. “It’s actually the Lagos Coastal Highway. Don’t call it Lagos-Calabar.
And I’ve said that if I do that, it will not get there. And the minister has vindicated me. And he