Former Governor of Cross River State and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has described the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, as a “local champion” following Diri’s criticism of his stance on the proposed 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Duke made the remarks on Thursday morning, October 15, 2026, during a live broadcast interview on The Morning Show on Arise Television in Abuja.
The verbal altercation stems from earlier comments made by Donald Duke questioning the economic viability and technical feasibility of constructing the highway through the difficult, swampy terrain of the Niger Delta.
During a previous television appearance, Duke had argued that the project was “unbuildable and unaffordable” for Nigeria given its current fiscal constraints, suggesting that building through areas like Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, would require hundreds of bridges and drain resources.
In response, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, speaking through a statement released in Yenagoa by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, faulted Duke’s assertions.
Diri stated that modern engineering makes roads through swampy terrains achievable, pointing to dualised roads constructed through forests and swamps in the New Yenagoa City and the Glory Drive axis. Diri maintained that the coastal highway is a long-standing desire of the Ijaw ethnic nationality and cautioned political leaders against politicising crucial regional infrastructure.
Firing back on Thursday, Duke dismissed Governor Diri’s criticisms, asserting that his evaluation of the project was grounded in national economic realities rather than regional sentiment.
”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 stated. “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.”
Duke further argued that the Federal Government lacks the financial capacity to execute the full length of the multi-trillion naira coastal road without worsening the country’s debt profile.
”It’s just not feasible. We don’t have the kind of money to do it. We’re literally borrowing to even stretch the Epe section. We’re borrowing. We can’t do it,” Duke added, while also raising questions about proposed route realignments onto sections of the existing East-West Road.
The 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, designed to traverse nine coastal states, continues to generate fierce debate across political and economic spectrums as opposition leaders demand greater scrutiny over its cost, engineering design, and funding model.
