(Donald Duke. Photo by Daily Post)
The Peoples Redemption Party’s presidential candidate has dismissed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as an unaffordable project that the Nigerian government cannot sustain, arguing during a television interview on Tuesday that its utility remains questionable.
Duke expressed doubt that the infrastructure would extend beyond Epe, noting that his own experience driving the route revealed it was largely devoted to land reclamation activities rather than conventional road construction.
He contended that an existing road network already links Lagos and Calabar, and that rather than embarking on new ventures, the government should focus on rehabilitating and improving existing routes.
He framed the highway project as emblematic of wasteful expenditure that fails to match Nigeria’s actual circumstances and priorities.
The funds allocated to the road, he argued, would yield far greater returns if redirected toward urgent national needs specifically electrical infrastructure and healthcare delivery.
He pointed to the inadequacy of public health funding, noting that the previous year’s capital allocation for the sector amounted to barely 36 million naira, characterizing this as insufficient for a nation of 230 million people.
He extended this critique to education, observing that the schooling system similarly lacks adequate financing, describing the overall picture of resource allocation as misaligned with the country’s development imperatives.
Nigeria Cannot Afford the Lagos-Calabar Highway; I Don’t Think the Road Will Go Beyond Epe – Duke
There is already a road from Lagos to Calabar; if the road is poor, fix it. There are some expenditures we make that do not reflect the realities of our circumstances. The amount… pic.twitter.com/butFUouP4k
— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) August 4, 2026
