Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has accused former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of political pretence, alleging that his presidential ambition is a bid to safe political “rehabilitation”.
Mr Diri made the allegation whereas responding to Mr Duke’s remarks in regards to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, escalating their disagreement over the feasibility of setting up roads and bridges throughout Bayelsa’s swampy terrain.
In a video posted Thursday on the Bayelsa Government New Media Facebook web page, Mr Diri described Mr Duke as a “jester and a pretender”. He accused him of adopting an insulting posture in direction of him as a serving governor throughout an look on ARISE News Television.
“There is no councillor from PRP in your own ward, yet you pretend to be a presidential candidate so that at the end of the day, you will be rehabilitated,” Mr Diri mentioned.
Mr Duke is the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate for the 2027 common elections.
The governor’s remarks adopted Mr Duke’s description of him as a “local champion” throughout an interview on ARISE News, by which the previous governor questioned the feasibility and affordability of the coastal freeway.
Mr Duke argued that the proposed freeway was impractical due to Bayelsa’s swampy terrain and the monetary implications of constructing a whole lot of bridges alongside the route.
But Mr Diri rejected the criticism, insisting that the state’s expertise in setting up roads and bridges throughout troublesome terrain confirmed that the undertaking was achievable.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Diri cited street initiatives in Bayelsa to counter Mr Duke’s declare that the freeway was unbuildable by way of the state.
The governor mentioned he was notably upset {that a} former governor from the Niger Delta would make remarks he thought of dismissive of Bayelsa and its individuals.
“The former governor went to ARISE TV. What I saw there was more of an insult,” Mr Diri mentioned.
He additionally took exception to Mr Duke’s reported comment that he (Duke) didn’t know him.
“Donald Duke, hear me well, I am not ‘that fellow’. I am an elected, sitting governor of Bayelsa State,” he mentioned.
“If you claimed you don’t know me, I don’t likewise know you.”
Mr Diri argued that Mr Duke, as a former governor, ought to respect the workplace of a governor no matter their private relationship.
He additionally dismissed Mr Duke’s description of him as a neighborhood champion, saying his political duty was to symbolize the pursuits of the individuals who elected him.
“I am a local champion because that is where I was raised. I was elected to serve the local people. I was elected to champion their cause,” he mentioned.
The governor later questioned Mr Duke’s file on the Bakassi dispute, which led to the switch of the peninsula to Cameroon following a 2002 International Court of Justice judgement.
“Donald Duke, let me ask you, you were in office when Bakassi was ceded to Cameroon. Because you were not a local champion, you did nothing about it,” Mr Diri mentioned.
He accused the previous governor of failing to defend native pursuits whereas in workplace, contrasting that file along with his personal dedication to defending Bayelsa and its individuals.
Mr Diri mentioned his response went past a private disagreement; he noticed it as an assault on the state and its individuals.
“I do not take up people. I am not one to insult people. I don’t insult leaders, I don’t insult elders. But what you have done is not just about me. It is about my environment; it is about my people,” he mentioned.
“I will stand tall at all times to defend this environment and defend the people of Bayelsa State.”
Diri misconstrued my assertion – Duke
When contacted for his response to Mr Diri’s remarks, Mr Duke advised PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday that the governor misconstrued his assertion.
“I never said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road was not desirable; all I said was that, at this time, it is not financially feasible, and Minister Umahi vindicated me by stating the road is being diverted to join the East -West Highway for the same reasons I stated,” Mr Duke mentioned in a written textual content to our reporter.
“I can perceive him championing the street inside his neighborhood. That’s completely acceptable. If the street had been ever constructed, I’d be considered one of its biggest beneficiaries as I reside each in Lagos and Calabar. I used Bayelsa solely for instance of the difficult terrain the street must traverse.
“But actually, I doubted from the outset the street could be constructed. I mentioned it then, and I say it once more: the street, as we all know it, will terminate at Epe, and that’s what has occurred.
“And how did I disrespect his office? By disagreeing with him?” the previous governor mentioned.
Background
The dispute started after Mr Duke questioned the technical and monetary feasibility of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a federal authorities undertaking deliberate to traverse 9 coastal states.
Mr Duke argued that Bayelsa’s swampy terrain would make development troublesome and costly, and questioned the undertaking’s precedence amid Nigeria’s competing growth wants.
Mr Diri, nonetheless, mentioned his administration had constructed roads and bridges in related circumstances, citing initiatives together with the Nembe-Brass Road, the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge Road, and the 630-metre bridge throughout River Nun at Angiama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
In a subsequent response reported by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Duke maintained that the existence of roads and bridges in Bayelsa didn’t settle questions in regards to the coastal freeway’s price, engineering necessities and financial justification.
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