The Diri government is a “local champion”, Duke said over criticism of the Lagos-Calabar highway

Presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), and former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, has described Bayelsa State governor, Douye Diri as a “local champion” over his critical response to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

Duke, who spoke during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Thursday, stated that the Bayelsa governor was looking at the project from a local perspective, not a national perspective.

Duke insisted that the coast road project was not feasible because of its cost and the terrain it would cover.

Diri had expressed disappointment with the Duke’s earlier claim that building a highway through Bayelsa was impracticable due to the state’s swampy condition.

The Bayelsa Governor, through his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, maintained that the Duke was unaware of developments in the state, where his administration has been building roads and bridges across swamps and mangroves.

“It is clear that he does not follow developments in road and infrastructure development in our country at this time,” said Diri.

Responding, the PRP candidate rejected Diri’s defense of the project, saying the governor was looking at the issue from a state-level perspective rather than considering the wider impact on Nigeria.

“And Bayelsa Governor, if he says that, I don’t know the person, but if he says that, I think he’s just being a local figure,” Duke said.

He added that his regional origin does not prevent him from assessing the project from a national perspective.

“I come from the South-South. I am Nigerian. The South-South is where I come from. But I see Nigeria as a whole,” he said.

Duke stated that Nigeria did not have the financial capacity to implement the project, arguing that the government was already borrowing to fund infrastructure development.

“It’s impossible to do. We don’t have the money to do that. We actually borrowed to expand the Epe area. We borrowed. We can’t do it,” he said.

Duke also questioned the decision to divert part of the road to East-West Road, asking whether the existing highway had been considered from the start of the project.

“Now, they’re saying they’re going to divert to the East-West Highway. Didn’t they know there was an East-West Highway in the first place?” he asked