Donald Duke, 2027 presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, says the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Highway is a misplaced priority.
“Some of our expenditures just don’t make sense. Take, for instance, the Lagos-Calabar Highway. I know the country can’t afford it. You can’t build the road on a coast to Calabar. You can’t even go through Bayelsa, whose capital, Yenagoa, is swamped,” Mr Duke said on ARISE TV on Tuesday.
The coastal highway is a 700-kilometre project initiated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2024, designed to run from Lagos to Calabar, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
Mr Duke, who noted that there is already a road to Calabar, claimed the highway would not go beyond Epe.
“There is already road to Calabar. I have driven from Lagos to Calabar about seven times. If the road is poor, fix it. I don’t think that road will be beyond Epe,” Mr Duke, a former Cross River governor, stated.
The politician argued the resources committed to the highway would have been used to improve the power, education and health sectors.
“There are some expenditures we make that do not reflect the reality of our circumstance. You have got to prioritise and focus on what is required. The amount spent on that road could be better spent providing electricity and health system. The school system is also barely funded. Focus on priorities. Recalibrate your revenue system,” the former Cross River governor explained.
The presidency and the works ministry could not be immediately reached for comment on Mr Duke’s statement.