The Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has accused the federal government of shortchanging the state in the implementation of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, insisting that the road must follow its original alignment.
The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Mac-Eke, who spoke with journalists during a media parley at the state party secretariat in Yenagoa, expressed concern over what he described as a deviation from the project’s original plan and the alleged failure of the Bayelsa State Government to challenge decisions he said could undermine the state’s development interests.
He argued that Bayelsa, as a major contributor to Nigeria’s oil wealth and a state with a predominantly coastal terrain, should not be excluded from infrastructure projects designed to address the longstanding developmental challenges of the Niger Delta.
He said the commencement of the coastal highway under President Bola Tinubu had raised hopes among the Ijaw people that the Federal Government would finally address critical infrastructure deficits in the region.
The NDC state spokesman, however, maintained that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the East-West Road were separate projects and should be implemented according to their respective plans, rather than allowing changes to one to undermine the other.
Mac-Eke, who was flanked by the NDC State Assistant Publicity Secretary, Comrade Dennis Egbemo, said: “You said you want to build a 750km road, by the time you conceptualized that project you should have done your feasibility studies and cost analysis not until when it gets to the turn of the Bayelsa and Niger Delta people who are on the shores eagerly waiting with high hopes and you wake up in the middle of the night to talk about realignment.
“As Ijaw people first, we are not going to fall for that trap and we reject it in totality. The road must follow its original plan and also as NDC, it is taxpayers’ money and not theirs.
“When it comes to oil exploration and exploitation, it is not expensive, but when it comes to the development of our people, it is now expensive. Bayelsa oil money is good to fund Nigeria, but Nigeria is not good to fund Bayelsa State.
“Since then we have not heard any official statement from the leadership of Bayelsa State who happen to be their party man.”
The NDC spokesman questioned whether the governor’s defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress had yielded the anticipated development benefits, noting that Diri had reportedly presented his move to the party as a means of attracting more federal projects to the state.
He further cited Bayelsa’s reported exclusion from federal seaport development plans and President Tinubu’s campaign itinerary as further instances of what he described as the state’s marginalization.
He faulted the state government for its alleged silence over the matter, insisting that the leadership should be more vocal in defending Bayelsa’s interests at the federal level.
On the 2027 general elections, he boasted with confidence that the NDC would defeat its political opponents in Bayelsa in the 2027 general elections.
