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The governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri, Thursday, stated his disagreement with the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi on the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Governor Diri also stated the position of the South-south governors on the project, saying that they were unanimous in their support for the coastal road and against its re-alignment with the East-West Road.
The Bayelsa governor was unsparing in his response to the comments of a former governor of Cross River state, Mr. Donald Duke, who he described as a jester, a pretender and a politician without a base.
A statement by his chief press secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said he spoke during the 200th session of the state executive council in Government House, Yenagoa.
The governor said: “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, “Honourable 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 take the place of 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.”
On Donald Duke, the Bayelsa governor said he was perplexed watching a video clip of the former Cross River state governor speak on the project on a television programme.
Diri expressed shock that a son of the South-south could describe the project as not feasible because Bayelsa was a swamp.
“When I watched the video and listened to everything he said about the coastal road, what actually made me respond was the example he gave using my state, Bayelsa. He said the coastal road was not feasible, and his reason was that even the state capital of Bayelsa is a swamp. According to him, for the coastal road to pass through Bayelsa, 100 to 200 bridges would have to be constructed.”
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