Former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke has criticised the Federal Government’s Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, describing it as another example of misplaced national priorities and questioning its long-term feasibility.
Speaking on the ambitious infrastructure project, Duke argued that the 750-kilometre coastal highway is unlikely to be completed as proposed, claiming it would not extend beyond Epe on the Lagos axis.
According to the former governor, Nigeria currently lacks the financial capacity to deliver the project in its entirety, despite ongoing construction on some sections of the highway.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the Federal Government’s flagship infrastructure projects, is designed to connect Lagos with Cross River State through several coastal states. Construction has already commenced on portions of the route, with completed sections spanning parts of Cross River and Akwa Ibom, while work from the Lagos end has reportedly advanced towards Ondo State.
However, Duke maintained that the project’s scale far outweighs the country’s economic realities, insisting that scarce public resources should instead be directed towards more pressing national needs.
His remarks add to the growing debate surrounding the multi-billion-naira project, which has attracted both praise from supporters who see it as a transformative economic corridor and criticism from those who question its cost, timing and overall sustainability.
The Federal Government has consistently defended the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a strategic investment aimed at boosting economic growth, improving regional connectivity and unlocking coastal development across southern Nigeria.
