A former Bayelsa East Senator, Ben Murray-Bruce, has defended the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, faulting the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, Donald Duke, over his criticism of the road’s cost and feasibility.
Murray-Bruce, in a post on his X handle on Friday, said he was surprised by Duke’s position, recalling that the former Governor of Cross River had previously praised the vision behind the project.
Duke had questioned the economic viability of the highway, describing it as a misplaced priority amid Nigeria’s financial challenges.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television in Thursday, Duke said the country could not afford the project and expressed doubts about whether it would extend beyond Epe, Lagos State.
“I’ll bring this up. Take the Lagos-Calabar highway. I know the country cannot afford it,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the difficult terrain in Bayelsa State, arguing that constructing the highway through its swampy areas would require numerous bridges and significantly increase costs.
“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,” Duke said.
