Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has rejected any move to merge or realign the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the existing East-West Road, insisting that both projects are distinct and should proceed independently.
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Diri, who also serves as Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum, disclosed that he personally conveyed his opposition to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, after reports emerged that the coastal highway could be redirected through the East-West Road.
Speaking during the 200th session of the Bayelsa State Executive Council at Government House, Yenagoa, Diri said reconstructing the East-West Road should not be used as a substitute for continuing the coastal highway through the South-South.
“I read, like everyone else, that there would be a realignment and that the coastal road would be merged with the East-West Road, which I do not believe is the same project. That should be a South-South road,” he said.
According to him, he called Umahi privately and made his position clear.
“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.”
Diri said Umahi repeatedly referred to President Bola Tinubu during their discussion, but maintained that the Works Minister, as the official implementing the project, should communicate the concerns of the South-South governors to the President.
“He kept mentioning Mr President’s name, and I felt that he was the implementer and was the one who addressed the media. So, go back and tell Mr President that this is the position of the governors of the South-South, because I also speak as Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum,” Diri said.
Umahi has since publicly maintained that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has not been abandoned, saying the reconstruction of the East-West Road is an additional project and that the coastal highway remains intact.
Diri also intensified his public disagreement with former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party presidential candidate Donald Duke over the feasibility of constructing the coastal highway through Bayelsa.
Duke had questioned the technical and financial feasibility of the project, citing Bayelsa’s swampy terrain and the number of bridges that could be required for the highway to pass through the state. He subsequently argued that Umahi’s acknowledgment of difficult terrain and redesign considerations vindicated concerns he had earlier raised.
Diri, however, rejected Duke’s position, saying he was particularly disturbed that the former governor used Bayelsa as an example of why the project could not be successfully constructed.
“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,” Diri said.
“He said the coastal road was not feasible, and his reason was that even the state capital of Bayelsa is a swamp. According to him, for the coastal road to pass through Bayelsa, 100 to 200 bridges would have to be constructed.”
Diri argued that the swampy nature of Bayelsa should not be regarded as an insurmountable obstacle to infrastructure development, noting that his administration was already constructing roads and bridges across similar terrain.
“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,” he said.
Diri also recalled that the same swampy Niger Delta environment had produced the oil resources that sustained Nigeria’s economy for decades.
He subsequently turned his criticism directly on Duke, questioning his political standing and describing him as a “jester” and “pretender.”
“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. Yet, you pretend to be a presidential candidate so that at the end of the day you can be rehabilitated,” Diri said.
“You can continue to be your national and international champion without a nucleus, without a base. I advise you to go back and settle the huge debts hanging over the heads of generations yet unborn, debts that you incurred and passed on to successive governments in your state.”
The governor also referred to the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon during Duke’s tenure as Cross River State governor.
“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,” he said.
“I believe you are more of a jester and a pretender. You pretend to be a presidential candidate, even though you have been out of government for over a decade — almost two decades.”
Diri said it was ordinarily not his style to engage in public confrontation or insults but maintained that he could not ignore comments he considered disparaging to Bayelsa and its people.
“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,” he said.
The governor also reacted to Duke’s description of him as “that fellow” and a “local champion” in an earlier response to their disagreement.
“Donald Duke, I am not that fellow. I am the sitting governor of Bayelsa State,” Diri said.
“He also said, ‘I don’t even know that fellow.’ But I do not want you to know me from Adam, and I don’t 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.”
Diri said he had no problem being described as a “local champion,” arguing that defending Bayelsa and its people was part of the responsibility for which he was elected.
“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,” he said.
Duke, however, has maintained that his criticism was not that the highway was undesirable, but that he considered it financially and technically difficult under current circumstances. He also said Diri had misconstrued his remarks and insisted that his use of Bayelsa was merely intended to illustrate the difficult terrain through which the project would pass.
The disagreement has therefore developed along two fronts: whether the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway should retain its original independent route rather than rely on the East-West Road, and whether the swampy terrain of Bayelsa makes the coastal project technically and financially feasible.
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