Duke calls Bayelsa governor ‘local champion’ over Lagos-Calabar highway

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has described Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri as a “local champion” over his defence of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

Duke, a former governor of Cross River State, made the remark during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Thursday, insisting that the project was financially unsustainable and raised questions about the feasibility of constructing the road across difficult terrain.

The exchange followed Diri’s criticism of Duke’s earlier position that building the highway through Bayelsa State would be impracticable because of its swampy landscape.

Diri, through his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, had faulted Duke’s assessment, arguing that the former governor was unfamiliar with advances in road construction and infrastructure development in Bayelsa.

The governor cited his administration’s construction of roads and bridges across swampy and mangrove areas as evidence that the terrain was not an insurmountable obstacle.

Responding, Duke accused Diri of viewing the project from a narrow state 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,” he said.

Duke stressed that his criticism was not driven by his regional background, noting that he was concerned about the overall cost and feasibility of the project.

“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 said.

The PRP candidate argued that Nigeria lacked the financial resources to undertake the project, particularly as the government was already borrowing to finance infrastructure development.

“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.