Lagos-Calabar highway not wasteful, won’t stall in Lagos – Presidency replies Duke

By Precious Mark

The Presidency has pushed back against former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, rejecting his assertion that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a wasteful project bound to stall within Lagos State.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi was reacting to remarks made by Duke during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Tuesday.

Featuring as the 2027 presidential flagbearer for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), the former governor asserted that current fiscal realities do not justify the multi-billion-dollar 700-kilometer project, arguing that existing transit corridors should be rehabilitated instead.

Reacting, Ajayi described Duke’s stance as political commentary that ignores measurable construction progress beyond Lagos borders.

“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.”

“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,” he said.

Ajayi emphasized that civil works have already expanded past Epe into neighboring states, with active construction underway across the Ogun, Ondo, and Akwa Ibom State sections of the road.