Coastal Highway Is Buildable, Diri Faults Duke

Philip Jeremiah Eke, Yenagoa

Governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Douye Diri, has faulted former Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, over his criticism of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

Duke, speaking in an interview on Arise Television, had described the project as unbuildable, citing the swampy terrain of the Niger Delta.

The 750km highway, being constructed by the Federal Government, traverses nine coastal states – Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.

Duke had said: “The Lagos-Calabar Road is unbuildable. You cannot even go through Bayelsa. Bayelsa is swamp. Even Yenagoa, the capital, is swamp. You will probably have to build about 100 or 200 bridges to go through those swamps.”

But responding in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, Governor Diri expressed disappointment that a former governor from the South-South would criticise the project on political grounds rather than facts.

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He said Duke’s reference to Bayelsa’s difficult, swampy terrain was out of tune with current realities in the state.

Diri said if Duke had followed developments in Bayelsa, where his administration has constructed roads and bridges across swamps and mangroves, he would have known that the coastal road project was feasible.

His words: “I have seen the trending video clip of the former Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency Donald Duke, on an Arise Television programme.

“To say the least, I feel disappointed that former Governor Duke, who is from our region, made such a comment. Clearly, he is not abreast of current developments in road construction and infrastructure development in our state.

“I want to believe that his criticism had political colourations and he did not consider the significance of such a project to our region.

“In Bayelsa, we have successfully constructed dual carriage roads and bridges in similar terrain and our state is better for it. The Nembe-Brass Road, the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge Road and the Yenagoa-Oporoma Road, which are major causeways in our three senatorial districts, are all in swampy terrain. Ditto for the 630-metre bridge across River Nun at Angiama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which is one of the longest in the region.

“Dualised roads in the New Yenagoa City, the dualised Glory Drive Phase 1, 2 and 3 were built through the forest and swamps. Yenagoa is not what Duke described it.

“So, he is wrong. The Lagos-Calabar coastal road is buildable and possible.”

Governor Diri stressed that the project was critical to unlocking development in the coastal states and riverine communities along its corridor.

He noted that the highway was dear to the Ijaw ethnic nationality, describing it as one of the projects the Ijaw National Congress, INC, had clamoured for since its inception in the 1990s.

According to him, it was only the administration of President Bola Tinubu that eventually embarked on the project after many years of requests to previous administrations.

Diri said this was one of the reasons he joined the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the interest of his people remains paramount.

He cautioned against politicising development during election seasons, saying the consequences were often borne by the people whose votes politicians seek.