Ex-presidential aide backs Tinubu, seeks transparency on coastal road project

Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, yesterday, revealed his disagreement with the Minister of Works, David Umahi, on the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

Diri also disclosed the position of the South-South governors on the project, insisting that they were unanimous in their support for the coastal road and against its realignment with the East-West Road.

The governor was, however, unsparing in his response to the comments made by former governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke, whom he described as a jester, a pretender and a politician without a base.

According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, the governor said this while speaking during the 200th session of the state executive council in the Government House, Yenagoa.

His words: “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.

“I privately called the Minister of Works and said, “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 replace 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.”

He stated that the discussion got to the point where they disagreed.

MEANWHILE, former Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs and ex-Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP),  Kingsley Kemebradigha Kuku, has thrown his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Kuku hinged his decision on the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project, stressing that the Ijaw Nation and the wider Niger Delta deserve development commensurate with their contributions to the country’s wealth.

In a statement made available to newsmen, Kuku described the coastal highway as an ambitious national infrastructure project worthy of recognition, urging that it be situated within what he termed a long-term national development plan capable of outliving any single administration.

The former legislator and lawyer argued that the Niger Delta’s claim to infrastructure is a question of fairness rather than favour, stressing that communities whose land and waters have sustained the national economy should not be left to struggle with poor roads and weak infrastructure.