Coastal Road: Duke Knocks Gov Diri

Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has described Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri as a “local champion” over his defence of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, insisting that the project is economically unviable and beyond the country’s financial capacity.

Duke, who spoke during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Thursday, faulted Diri’s response to his earlier position that constructing the highway through Bayelsa State would be impracticable because of its swampy terrain and the enormous cost involved.

Diri had expressed disappointment with Duke’s assessment, arguing through his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, that the former governor was unfamiliar with developments in road construction and infrastructure in Bayelsa, where his administration had constructed roads and bridges across swamps and mangrove forests.

Responding, Duke dismissed the governor’s argument, accusing him of viewing the project from a narrow, state-level perspective rather than considering its implications for the country as a whole.

“And the governor of Bayelsa, if he did say so, I don’t know the fellow, but if he did say so, I think he’s just being a local champion,” Duke said.

The PRP presidential candidate stressed that his South-South origin did not prevent him from evaluating the project from a national perspective, insisting that the country’s economic realities should take precedence over regional considerations.

“I’m from the South-South. I’m a Nigerian. South-South just happens to be where I originated from. But I’m looking at the totality of Nigeria,” he added.

Duke maintained that Nigeria lacked the financial resources to execute the coastal highway, arguing that the Federal Government was already relying on borrowing to finance infrastructure projects.

“It’s just not feasible. We don’t have the kind of money to do it. We’re literally borrowing to even stretch Epe stretch. We’re borrowing. We can’t do it,” he said.

He also questioned the Federal Government’s decision to divert a section of the coastal highway to the East-West Road, asking whether the existing road had been taken into account when the project was conceived.

“Now, they have said that they’re going to divert the road onto the East-West Highway. Weren’t they aware of the East-West Highway from get-go?” he asked.

With Duke’s latest criticism, analysts insist that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will attract more public scrutiny over its cost, route and economic justification.