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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general elections, Yakubu Kingsley, has disagreed with former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, over his criticism of the Federal Government’s Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Kingsley said political differences should not prevent Nigerians from acknowledging what he described as genuine achievements of the government, insisting that opposition politics should be based on constructive criticism and credible alternatives rather than blanket condemnation of government initiatives.
Duke, the PRP’s INEC-recognised presidential candidate, had, during a television interview on Tuesday, described the coastal highway project as evidence of the Federal Government’s misplaced priorities.
He argued that the 750-kilometre project, with completed sections at the Calabar end in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states and work extending into Ondo from the Lagos end, would not go beyond Epe in Ogun State.
Reacting in a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, Kingsley, who is challenging the outcome of the PRP presidential primary that produced Duke, said opposition should not mean rejecting every government project simply because it was initiated by an incumbent administration.
A Federal High Court judgment on the matter is scheduled for November 2, 2026.
He said the principle should also guide the PRP, arguing that where government policies were wrong, the party should identify the problems and offer alternatives, while acknowledging policies and projects it considered beneficial.
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Speaking from his background as a highway engineer, Kingsley commended the Tinubu administration for the coastal highway project, particularly its scope, corridor alignment and engineering concept.
He said the project could become a long-term backbone for regional connectivity, freight movement, integration of coastal communities and economic development.
He, however, said the cost, financing, procurement process and environmental impact of the project should be subjected to proper scrutiny.
Kingsley urged PRP candidates across the country to campaign on issues rather than attacks on incumbents, challenging them to explain what they would do differently on security, education, healthcare, employment and infrastructure.
He said acknowledging the merits of one government project should not obscure what he described as broader failures of the administration.
According to him, the Tinubu administration has fallen short in tackling insecurity, poverty, unemployment, energy poverty and the rising cost of living.
He pointed to his YMK Nigeria Project under the PRP as an alternative built around accountability, competence and people-centred policies, which he said were rooted in the political traditions of Aminu Kano and Balarabe Musa.
Kingsley pledged to campaign alongside PRP candidates nationwide and called for a peaceful, issue-based 2027 election, with strict neutrality from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.
