₦airaland Forum

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, on Wednesday, responded to comments by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party in the upcoming 2027 elections, Donald Duke, regarding the financial implications of the Lagos-Calabar Highway.

Ajayi’s rebuttal comes on the heels of Duke’s interview with Arise News on Tuesday, where he faulted the Federal Government for embarking on such a monumental project, saying the expense could be spent on other sectors.

The highway, which is a monumental project valued at N15 trillion, was renamed the President Bola Tinubu Coastal Highway.

Duke insisted that the project wouldn’t extend beyond the Epe area of Lagos State, recalling that there’s an existing road that links Lagos State to Calabar.

“Take the Lagos-Calabar highway. I know the country cannot afford it. 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.

“There is already a road to Calabar. I’ve driven from Lagos to Calabar several times. If the road is poor, fix it.

“I don’t think that road is going to go beyond Epe, and I think the road serves other purposes because I drove once on the road and all I saw on the right flank going towards Epe was land reclamation and all that,” he stated.

The former Cross River State governor, who stayed in office from 1999 to 2007, further criticised the rate of borrowing from international money lenders, saying,

“The World Bank is now cautioning us. They probably won’t give us anything more, so we are going through different routes to get funding from other sources.

Because our revenue collection system is poor, we do the basic thing: we tax you on profit.

“You have got to prioritise and focus on what is required. The money being spent on that would be better spent providing electricity or upgrading the healthcare system.

So, prioritise, focus your priorities, recalibrate your revenue system, and look at the horrendous cost of gas.

“The governance structure must change. Look at the high cost of governance—why do you need a bicameral legislature? You don’t need it.

You can do with only a Senate; you don’t need a House of Representatives. Restructuring; it’s imperative. We need to restructure to come to terms with our circumstance.”

In his response via his X handle on Wednesday, Ajayi corrected that the project would go beyond Epe as against Duke’s remarks, adding that the project had reached Ogun State and progress is being made to extend it further.

He tweeted, “Former Governor Donald Duke, who wants to become President on the banner of an unviable political platform, has also joined the chorus of those saying the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not go beyond Lagos State.

“I think politics makes a lot of people say loads of what they don’t mean or believe in. They just talk for the sake of talking or because of bad politics. There is actually no sense in arguing against reality.

“While Duke was talking on TV that the coastal highway won’t go beyond Epe, the project has reached Ogun State, and work is going on on the Ondo and Akwa-Ibom states’ sections of the coastal road.”

Adblg0610:
The major achievement of Donald Duke, for eight years, is the moribund Calabar festival and the white elephant project called Obudu Ranch, which is of little or no economic contribution to the GDP of Cross River state, instead of channeling the same resources to develop Calabar seaport. It was during the same period that Tinubu used to build Lagos state to become the fifth largest economy in Africa.

TimeManager:
Why are these blind critics not condemning Badagry- Sokoto highway?, they only picked the Southern project for easy attacks while leaving out the Northern project. Fear dey catch dem?. Even Atiku no get liver to attack Badagry-Sokoto road.

#ThereIsNoVacancyInAsoRock

-Kiss the truth!

“Take the Lagos-Calabar highway. I know the country cannot afford it. 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.

Ofunaofu:
This isn't a constructive rebuttal; it's the same old playbook: attack anyone who expresses a dissenting opinion.

Donald Duke raised a valid question about the feasibility of completing this elephantine project, especially given the funding required.

Several years from now, when Tinubu is long gone and this white elephant project has been abandoned and forgotten, ask this same Temitope Ajayi why the Coastal Highway still hasn't reached Calabar. He'll probably tell you that successive governments abandoned the project, and that if Tinubu had remained president forever, it would have been completed.

kimjessey2019:
Anybody that speak out they will start insulting the person. I really hope their families are benefiting from this incompetent government Shaa bcoz if not, then that should be the most foolish thing to do.

Ofunaofu:
This statement below is the reason the project was already an abandoned project before it even began.

That is why it is being criticized. There are existing roads that should have been prioritized and fixed before engaging in this white elephant project.

Pakute:
https://punchng.com/tinubus-aide-faults-donald-duke-on-lagos-calabar-highway-criticism/

Exousiang01:
Do you travel?

I live in London but I know much more about the state of roads than most of you.
I. December 2025/January 2026 I was in not less than 12 states in Nigeria, I went by road.
There is no old major road that is not under construction.
As a matter of fact I entered Benie state via Crossriver,through Ebonyi, that road used to be a death trap.
You people just sir down and swallow every negative thing hook line and sinker....

The other time Peter went and stood at the part of the Benin expressway, the part where construction has not gotten to and you clapped for him

Image123:
Where is the insult please? Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, replying someone is most foolish thing to do according to you, hmmm. For people who rain curses by auto on opposing views and engage in rude name-calling and blackmail, you must know what insult mean, right?

"Former Governor Donald Duke, who wants to become President on the banner of an unviable political platform, has also joined the chorus of those saying the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not go beyond Lagos State.

“I think politics makes a lot of people say loads of what they don’t mean or believe in. They just talk for the sake of talking or because of bad politics. There is actually no sense in arguing against reality.

“While Duke was talking on TV that the coastal highway won’t go beyond Epe, the project has reached Ogun State, and work is going on on the Ondo and Akwa-Ibom states’ sections of the coastal road.”

Image123:
Na wa oh, this one is also attack? Government should not state facts or offer any rebuttal to lies again? This kain opposition na wa oh

brain54:
:::


The kind of response I was expecting and I wasn't disappointed one bit.


Someone raised rational and valid points and the best way he could have responded was bringing Duke's political platform and try to rubbish what he said without addressing the important points and concerns Duke raised.


No substance just empty response attacking personality and not the message.


Not disappointed one bit. It's the level nigerian government has degenerated to.


:::

TimeManager:
Why are these blind critics not condemning Badagry- Sokoto highway?, they only picked the Southern project for easy attacks while leaving out the Northern project. Fear dey catch dem?. Even Atiku no get liver to attack Badagry-Sokoto road.

#ThereIsNoVacancyInAsoRock

-Kiss the truth!

jchioma:
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.

“There is already a road to Calabar. I’ve driven from Lagos to Calabar several times. If the road is poor, fix it.

TimeManager:
Why are these blind critics not condemning Badagry- Sokoto highway?, they only picked the Southern project for easy attacks while leaving out the Northern project. Fear dey catch dem?. Even Atiku no get liver to attack Badagry-Sokoto road.

#ThereIsNoVacancyInAsoRock

-Kiss the truth!

kimjessey2019:
Anybody that speak out they will start insulting the person. I really hope their families are benefiting from this incompetent government Shaa bcoz if not, then that should be the most foolish thing to do.

Pakute:
https://punchng.com/tinubus-aide-faults-donald-duke-on-lagos-calabar-highway-criticism/