Donald Duke, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has criticised the Federal Government’s Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, arguing that Nigeria lacks the financial capacity to execute it.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Tuesday, Duke described the coastal highway as an unnecessary project, insisting that government resources should instead be directed toward sectors such as electricity and healthcare.
According to him, rehabilitating the existing Lagos-Calabar road would be a more practical option than embarking on a new highway project.
Donald Duke: Nigeria Can’t Afford Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway
“And I think the road serves other purposes because I drove once on the road, and all I saw was land reclamation and all that.
There is already a road from Lagos to Calabar. I’ve driven from Lagos to Calabar several times. If the road is poor, fix it.
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“There are some expenditures we make that do not reflect the realities of our circumstances.
“The amount spent on that road could be better spent providing electricity or upgrading the healthcare system.
Last year, I think the capital budget that was released for health was barely 36 million naira, and this came from the minister himself.
“That’s pathetic for a country of 230 million people. Not to talk of the schooling system that is hardly funded,” he said.