Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has dismissed former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke’s claim that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is unbuildable, citing roads and bridges constructed across the Niger Delta’s swampy terrain as evidence that the project is feasible.

Diri said Duke’s assessment overlooked infrastructure developments in Bayelsa, where his administration has built roads and bridges through difficult landscapes, including swamps and forests.

The governor’s position followed Duke’s appearance on Arise News, where the former governor described the proposed highway as impracticable because of the region’s challenging terrain and the number of bridges he believes would be required.

“The Lagos-Calabar Road is unbuildable. You cannot even go through Bayelsa. Bayelsa is swamp. Even Yenagoa, the capital, is swamp. You will probably have to build about 100 or 200 bridges to go through those swamps,” Duke said.

Responding in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Daniel Alabrah, Diri expressed disappointment that a former governor from the South-South region would question the feasibility of the project on geographical grounds.

He argued that existing infrastructure in Bayelsa demonstrated that engineering solutions could overcome the challenges posed by the region’s landscape.

“In Bayelsa, we have successfully constructed dual carriage roads and bridges in similar terrain and our state is better for it,” Diri said.

The governor cited the Nembe-Brass Road, Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge Road and Yenagoa-Oporoma Road as examples of projects crossing swampy areas across the state’s three senatorial districts.

He also pointed to the 630-metre bridge across River Nun at Angiama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, alongside dualised roads in New Yenagoa City and Glory Drive, as evidence of what could be achieved in difficult terrain.

“So, he is wrong. The Lagos-Calabar coastal road is buildable and possible,” Diri said.

The proposed 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a Federal Government project designed to pass through nine coastal states: Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.

Diri said the highway could unlock economic opportunities and accelerate development in communities along its route, particularly riverine areas that have long struggled with inadequate infrastructure.

He added that the project had been a longstanding demand of the Ijaw National Congress, which had advocated its construction since the organisation’s establishment in the 1990s.

The governor also linked his decision to join the ruling All Progressives Congress to what he described as the need to prioritise the interests of his people over partisan considerations.

He cautioned politicians against turning development projects into political disputes during election seasons, warning that ordinary citizens ultimately bear the consequences of such disagreements.