Presidency fires back at Donald Duke over coastal highway, says project already beyond Lagos

The Presidency on Wednesday launched a sharp rebuttal of former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke’s criticism of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, insisting that construction has already extended beyond Lagos State and describing the former governor’s comments as politically motivated.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, in a post on his verified X handle, @TheTope_Ajayi, said Duke’s assertion that the flagship highway would not progress beyond Epe ignored the reality of work already taking place across several states.

Ajayi was reacting to comments made by Duke during an interview on Arise Television, where the former governor questioned the viability of the multi-billion-naira project and argued that it was unlikely to extend beyond Lagos, describing it as a misplaced development priority.

Ajayi accused Duke of allowing partisan politics to cloud his assessment of the project.

“Politics makes a lot of people say loads of what they don’t mean or believe in. They just talk for the sake of talking or because of bad politics. There is actually no sense in arguing against reality,” Ajayi wrote.

The presidential aide maintained that the facts on the ground contradicted Duke’s position, noting that construction has already crossed into Ogun State, while work is progressing simultaneously on the Ondo State and Akwa Ibom State sections of the coastal highway.

“While Duke was talking on TV that the Coastal Highway won’t go beyond Epe, the project has reached Ogun State, and work is going on on the Ondo and Akwa Ibom State sections of the Coastal road,” he said.

Ajayi also took a swipe at Duke’s political credentials, describing the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), on whose platform the former governor contested the 2023 presidential election, as “an unviable political platform.”

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of the signature infrastructure projects of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The coastal corridor is expected to connect several states along Nigeria’s shoreline, with the Federal Government projecting significant gains in transportation, trade, tourism, and economic development.

Although the project has continued to draw criticism from some opposition figures over its cost and feasibility, the Federal Government has repeatedly defended the initiative, insisting that construction is progressing according to plan and remains a strategic investment in the country’s long-term economic growth.