By Oyintokoni Joel, Yenagoa
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, on Thursday revealed his disagreement with the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, over the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
The governor disclosed this during the 200th session of the State Executive Council in Government House, Yenagoa, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah.
Diri said he privately called the Minister when reports emerged that the coastal road would be re-aligned and merged with the East-West Road, telling him it was unacceptable as both are two different projects.
He said he told Umahi that while he supports the reconstruction of the East-West Road, it should not replace the coastal highway, which has already won the hearts of all coastal states.
Diri added that the South-South Governors, whom he chairs, are unanimous in their support for the coastal road to continue alongside the East-West Road reconstruction, and he urged the Minister to convey their position to the President.
The governor also descended heavily on former Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, whom he described as a jester and a pretender without a political base, over his comments that the coastal road was not feasible because Bayelsa is a swamp.
Diri said he was shocked that a son of the South-South could use Bayelsa as an example, claiming 100 to 200 bridges would be needed, and described Duke as a national champion without a nucleus whose party, PRP, has no councillor even in his own ward.
He accused Duke of doing nothing when Bakassi was ceded to Cameroon as governor, and of leaving huge debts and a white-elephant Tinapa project for successive governments in Cross River.
The governor said though it is not in his character to insult leaders, he will always defend Bayelsa and its people, insisting that the same swamp Duke described as undevelopable has produced the oil that fuels Nigeria’s economy.
Diri dismissed the narrative that Bayelsa cannot be developed, noting that with limited resources, his administration is building roads and bridges in the same swamp, and described the claim as “a fat lie from the pit of hell.”
He praised President Bola Tinubu for the coastal highway, saying it is a relevant and impactful project for coastal states and the Ijaw nation, and one of the key demands of the Ijaw National Congress dating back to the military era.
