Duke Claims Vindication Over Lagos-Calabar Highway Issues

Donald Duke, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party and former governor of Cross River State, stated that he has been vindicated by Minister of Works Dave Umahi's admission regarding the difficult terrain of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Through his personal assistant, Emeka Okpragu, Duke highlighted that Umahi's acknowledgment of construction challenges supports his previous criticisms of the project.

Duke rejected Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri's dismissal of his concerns as politically motivated, emphasizing that the project’s engineering demands and financial implications must be considered. Umahi confirmed that sections of the highway had to be redesigned due to difficult ground conditions, deep pits, and challenging subsoil conditions.

He also noted that President Bola Tinubu directed the highway's alignment to coincide with the existing East-West Road in parts of the Niger Delta. Duke asserted that Diri's examples of roads built across swamps do not address the broader questions regarding the project's cost and financing.