The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has insisted that no land was grabbed to construct the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The Minister spoke in response to claims by a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke who classified the project as land grabbing.
In an interview with Arise Television which was aired on Friday, the minister said: "He called a sitting governor a local champion and that is very terrible and unfortunate.
"When we talk about bogus projects we should be talking about Tinapa, is it functioning? It's not functioning, but you borrowed money from the state, which one is land grabbing?
"It's very terrible and if I'm not mistaking before he jumped to another party, himself and a former governor of Delta State had gone to commend the president about that project, and they were all part of the Coastal Highway project when they were all governors.
"And so, because of politics you are now saying it's land grabbing, who is grabbing the land? Before now I was the only person defending the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway but I'm very happy now that I now have companions, people that are interested, people that appreciated the president.
"And let me say to the people of the Niger Delta that the president has to return because, God forbids that he fails to return, they will continue to ignore Niger Delta and the Lagos-Calabar road will be gone. You have seen the kind of people that don't want the hen that lays the golden egg to benefit."