The Presidency has dismissed claims by former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not extend beyond Epe in Lagos State.
Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said the project had already progressed into Ogun State, with construction also ongoing in Ondo and Akwa Ibom states.
Ajayi’s response followed comments made by Duke during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, in which the former governor questioned the viability of the multi-trillion-naira project and argued that the Federal Government should prioritise investments in critical sectors such as electricity and healthcare.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, officially named the President Bola Tinubu Coastal Highway, is one of the Federal Government’s flagship infrastructure projects, with an estimated cost of ₦15 trillion.
Duke argued that the country could not afford the project, particularly given the engineering challenges posed by swampy terrain in parts of the Niger Delta.
“Take the Lagos-Calabar highway. I know the country cannot afford it. You cannot build a road on the coast from Lagos to Calabar. I mean, you can’t even go through Bayelsa. Bayelsa is swamp. Even Yenagoa, the capital, is swamp. You’ll probably have to build about 100 or 200 bridges to go through those swamps,” he said.
He maintained that Nigeria already has a road linking Lagos and Calabar, urging the government to rehabilitate the existing route instead of embarking on a new project.
“There is already a road to Calabar. I’ve driven from Lagos to Calabar several times. If the road is poor, fix it.
“I don’t think that road is going to go beyond Epe, and I think the road serves other purposes because I drove once on the road and all I saw on the right flank going towards Epe was land reclamation and all that,” Duke added.
The former governor also criticised the Federal Government’s borrowing strategy, warning that scarce financial resources should be channelled toward addressing electricity shortages, healthcare challenges and governance reforms rather than expensive infrastructure projects.
“The money being spent on that would be better spent providing electricity or upgrading the healthcare system. So, prioritise, focus your priorities, recalibrate your revenue system, and look at the horrendous cost of gas,” he said.
Duke further called for restructuring of Nigeria’s governance system, including a review of the country’s bicameral legislature, arguing that a unicameral National Assembly would reduce the cost of governance.
Responding in a post on his X account on Wednesday, Ajayi accused Duke of allowing politics to overshadow facts.
“Former Governor Donald Duke, who wants to become President on the banner of an unviable political platform, has also joined the chorus of those saying the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not go beyond Lagos State,” Ajayi wrote.
“I think 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.”
According to the presidential aide, work on the coastal highway has already moved beyond Lagos.
“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 states’ sections of the coastal road,” he added.
The exchange adds to the growing debate over the economic viability and long-term benefits of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the Tinubu administration’s most ambitious infrastructure initiatives.