Bayelsa governor insists coastal highway and East-West Road are separate projects; defends feasibility of construction in Niger Delta wetlands amid dispute with Donald Duke
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has disclosed that governors in the South-South geopolitical zone oppose any proposal to realign the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the existing East-West Road, insisting that both projects should proceed independently.
Diri, who chairs the South-South Governors’ Forum (SSGF), said he had personally conveyed the governors’ position to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, during a discussion about the federal government’s coastal highway project.
The governor made the disclosure at the 200th session of the Bayelsa State Executive Council in Yenagoa, according to a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah.
The disagreement comes amid questions about the coastal highway’s route, engineering requirements, cost and implementation. Former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke has questioned the financial feasibility of constructing the highway through the Niger Delta’s swampy terrain, prompting a sharp response from Diri.
Diri: Coastal highway must not be replaced by East-West Road
Diri said the proposed realignment should not result in the coastal highway being abandoned or absorbed into the East-West Road project.
According to him, the two roads serve different purposes, and rehabilitating the existing East-West Road should not be treated as a substitute for building a new coastal corridor.
“I agree with you that the East-West Road should be reconstructed. It is called the East-West Road, but its reconstruction should not take the place of the coastal road,” the governor said, recounting his conversation with Umahi.
He added that he had made it clear to the minister that the coastal highway remained a priority for Bayelsa and other coastal states.
Diri said he asked Umahi to communicate the South-South governors’ position to President Bola Tinubu, stressing that his intervention reflected his responsibility as chairman of the regional governors’ forum.
The governor maintained that the federal government should continue the coastal highway project while simultaneously undertaking the necessary reconstruction of the East-West Road.
Background: A major coastal infrastructure proposal
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a federal infrastructure project intended to improve connectivity along Nigeria’s southern coastline, linking Lagos with Calabar in Cross River State through the coastal corridor.
According to the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the project’s initial Lagos section was designed as a dual-carriageway road with concrete pavement, drainage infrastructure, culverts, median barriers and street lighting. Its first phase covers approximately 47.4 kilometres, within a wider 103-kilometre first section in Lagos State.
The federal government has presented the highway as a project that could improve transportation, open up new markets and stimulate commercial and economic activity along the corridor.
For the Niger Delta, the proposed route carries additional significance because coastal communities have long faced transportation difficulties, limited road connectivity and the high cost of building infrastructure across wetlands and waterways.
Diri said the coastal highway was also a longstanding demand of the Ijaw people. He recalled presenting a document containing the demands of the Ijaw National Congress during the political realignment involving some governors and the All Progressives Congress (APC), identifying the road as one of the region’s longstanding infrastructure priorities.
The governor praised Tinubu for supporting the project, arguing that coastal communities deserved infrastructure investment comparable to that available in other parts of Nigeria.
“If we can have roads in the North and other parts of the country, then the coastal road should also be built,” he said.
Diri challenges Duke over the feasibility of the highway
The dispute has also brought Diri into a public confrontation with Duke, who questioned whether constructing the proposed highway through Bayelsa’s swampy landscape would be financially justifiable.
During an appearance on Arise News, Duke argued that the terrain would present substantial engineering challenges, suggesting that the route could require between 100 and 200 bridges. He also questioned the need for a new highway when existing roads could be rehabilitated.
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Diri said he was particularly disappointed that a former governor from the South-South region had cited Bayelsa as an example of why the coastal highway might not be feasible.
The Bayelsa governor rejected the suggestion that the state’s wetlands made large-scale road construction impractical, arguing that his administration had undertaken road and bridge projects in similarly difficult conditions.
He cited the Nembe-Brass Road, the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge Road and the Yenagoa-Oporoma Road, as well as a 630-metre bridge across the River Nun at Angiama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
According to Diri, these projects demonstrate that engineering challenges associated with the state’s terrain can be addressed.
He gave an insight into his discussion with Minister Umahi.
“I privately called the Minister of Works and said: ‘Honourable Minister, that is a no, no, no for us. These are two different projects. I agree with you that the East-West Road should be reconstructed. It is called the East-West Road, but its reconstruction should not take the place of the coastal road.*
“’While you reconstruct the East-West Road, the coastal road must continue because you have already won the hearts of all the coastal states’.”
“I told him that for me and my state, the coastal road must continue. He kept mentioning Mr. President’s name, and I felt that he was the implementer and the one who addressed the media.
“So, I said: ‘Go back and tell Mr. President that this is the position of the governors of the Southsouth, because I also speak as Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum.”
Diri said he was perplexed that a prominent person like former Governor Duke of a South-South State could undermine the project on national television.
“When I watched the video and listened to everything he said about the coastal road, what actually made me respond was the example he gave using my state, Bayelsa. He said the coastal road was not feasible, and his reason was that even the state capital of Bayelsa is in a swamp. According to him, for the coastal road to pass through Bayelsa, 100 to 200 bridges would have to be constructed…
“You pretend to be a presidential candidate of PRP. There is not even a councillor from PRP in Cross River; not even in your own ward…
“Do not use Bayelsa State as an example of a place where roads cannot be built. You were in office when Bakassi was ceded out of Nigeria. But because you were not a local champion, you did nothing about it… You pretend to be a presidential candidate, even though you have been out of government for over a decade — almost two decades.
“I am not one of those who insult people. I do not insult leaders or elders. But what you have done is not just about me. It is about my environment and my people. I will always stand tall to defend this environment and the people of Bayelsa State.
“With our limited resources as a state government, we are building bridges and roads in the same swamp that he says cannot be developed. We are inviting him to come to Bayelsa since he has used our state as an example.”
The governor reminded Duke that it was the same swamps that produced the golden egg that fuelled the Nigerian economy.
“Yet, after that press statement, which I asked my Chief Press Secretary to issue, the former governor of Cross River State went back to say what I saw as more of an insult to my person.
“He started by saying: ‘That fellow. Donald Duke, I am not that fellow. I am the sitting governor of Bayelsa State. He also said: ‘I do not even know that fellow.’
“I do not want you to know me from Adam, and I do not know you; just as you do not know me. Hear me well: I am not that fellow. I am an elected, sitting governor of Bayelsa State, and I am very surprised that this is coming from a son of the Niger Delta and, more importantly, a former governor who should respect the office of a governor at all times.
“He did not stop there. He went on to say that ‘since I do not know him, he is a local champion’.
“Yes, I am a local champion because that is where I was raised. I was elected to defend the local people. I was elected to champion their cause. I was elected to see possibilities where there seem to be impossibilities.
“Enough of this narrative that the Bayelsa environment cannot be developed. Oil and gas resources can be taken away from our land, but why can’t the land itself be developed? That is a fat lie from the pit of hell, and we reject it…
“The coastal road is a very important, relevant, and impactful project for every state along the coastline, particularly for us in the Southsouth and Bayelsa State.
“If you recall, on the day we were all crossing over from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), I brought out a document containing the demands of the Ijaw National Congress (INC). One of the major demands, dating back to the military era, was the construction of the coastal road. These were some of the relevant issues that made some of us decide to say: ‘Okay, let us go.’
“I like to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. President. The very thought of it alone — that these coastal people should not continue to wallow in poverty and be dehumanised, and that they should not be seen as second-class citizens of this country — is commendable.