Former senator Ben Murray-Bruce has claimed that former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party presidential candidate for the 2027 Nigeria normal election, Donald Duke, beforehand praised the imaginative and prescient behind the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
He challenged Mr Duke to reconcile the alleged endorsement together with his current criticism of the venture.
Mr Murray-Bruce made the declare in a Facebook submit on Friday, addressing Mr Duke straight and recalling an earlier journey they allegedly made collectively alongside the shoreline the place the freeway is being constructed.
To reinforce his account, Mr Murray-Bruce hooked up {a photograph} that seems to indicate each males standing on a coastal highway. However, the {photograph} doesn’t independently show when or the place it was taken, or what Mr Duke mentioned in regards to the venture on the time.
“Some years ago, you and I travelled along the stretch of the coastline where this road now runs, and I clearly remember your praise for the vision behind it. That is why your recent comments surprised me,” Mr Murray-Bruce wrote.
He acknowledged that the freeway was costly however insisted that the associated fee must be weighed towards its potential long-term advantages.
“Great nations are built by leaders willing to make bold, costly investments that will serve generations yet unborn,” he mentioned.
Mr Murray-Bruce additionally defended President Bola Tinubu’s dedication to financing the venture, insisting that there was no funding shortfall and that building was progressing.
He described the work as worldwide commonplace, aligning himself with Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, who defended the freeway towards Mr Duke’s criticism.
“When Governor Douye Diri commended the road, he was not speaking as a local champion; he was speaking as a statesman who recognises infrastructure of international standard when he sees it. I agree with him completely,” Mr Murray-Bruce mentioned.
Mr Duke had questioned the venture’s price and feasibility, elevating considerations in regards to the proposed route by way of Bayelsa State’s swampy terrain and whether or not the nation might afford such an costly endeavor.
His criticism prompted Mr Diri to defend the venture, after which Mr Duke described the governor as a “local champion”, arguing that his evaluation failed to contemplate Nigeria’s monetary constraints and competing improvement priorities sufficiently.
Mr Murray-Bruce, nevertheless, urged that Mr Duke’s criticism was influenced by his reported ambition to contest the 2027 presidential election.
“Donald, I understand that you are running for president, and that your statement is political. That is the nature of the season, and I respect your right to make your case to Nigerians,” he wrote.
“But we must be careful never to undermine a project of national importance, or the President delivering it, simply for political advantage.”
He in contrast the freeway to the United States’ moon-landing programme, saying costly initiatives can ship lasting advantages to future generations.
“When mankind went to the moon, it was neither cheap nor free. But it was necessary. So is this road,” he mentioned.
Duke but to reply
PREMIUM TIMES made a number of phone calls to Mr Duke on Friday afternoon to hunt his response to Mr Murray-Bruce’s declare that he had beforehand praised the venture, however he didn’t reply.
The newspaper additionally despatched a media enquiry by way of textual content message, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, asking whether or not Mr Duke had beforehand visited and recommended any stretch of the freeway and searching for his response to the allegation that his criticism was politically motivated. He had not responded as of the time of submitting this report.
The alternate additionally comes towards the backdrop of Mr Murray-Bruce’s open help for Mr Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The former Bayelsa East senator defected from the PDP to the ruling APC in October 2025 and later mentioned he would vote for Mr Tinubu in 2027, citing confidence within the president’s reforms.
Mr Murray-Bruce, who hails from Akassa in Bayelsa State, represented Bayelsa East within the Senate from 2015 to 2019. His defence of the coastal freeway aligns him with Mr Diri, the Bayelsa governor, who has additionally defended the venture towards Mr Duke’s criticism.
The alternate provides a brand new dimension to the talk over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, shifting consideration past its price and engineering feasibility as to if Mr Duke’s present place differs from his alleged earlier evaluation.
Mr Murray-Bruce’s account of the sooner go to and the circumstances surrounding the {photograph} couldn’t be independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES as of the time of submitting this report.
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