The Presidency has dismissed former Cross River State governor Donald Duke’s claim that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will stop at Epe in Lagos State, insisting that construction has already moved beyond the state.
The government’s reaction followed comments by Duke, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, questioning the extent and relevance of the coastal road project.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, accused the former governor of presenting a false picture of the project’s progress, saying ongoing construction had already entered Ogun State.
Ajayi, in a post on his verified X account, said political considerations may have influenced criticism of the highway, adding that the reality on ground contradicted claims that the project would end in Lagos.
He said sections of the coastal road were also progressing in Ondo and Akwa Ibom states.
‘While Duke was saying on TV that the Coastal Highway won’t go beyond Epe, the project has reached Ogun State, and work is ongoing on the Ondo and Akwa Ibom State sections of the coastal road,’ Ajayi said.
Duke, who governed Cross River State between 1999 and 2007, was the SDP presidential candidate in the 2019 election before joining the PRP for the 2027 presidential race.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway remains one of the Federal Government’s major infrastructure projects, designed to link coastal communities from Lagos to Cross River State.