Diri Labels Duke a Pretender, Questions His Presidential Goals

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has accused former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of pretending in politics. He claims Duke's ambition to be president is just a way to seek political "rehabilitation".

Diri made these comments after Duke spoke about the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Their disagreement is about whether it is possible to build roads and bridges across the swampy areas in Bayelsa.

In a video shared on Thursday on the Bayelsa Government New Media Facebook page, Diri called Duke a "jester and a pretender". He said Duke was disrespectful towards him as a sitting governor during an interview 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," Diri said.

Duke is the presidential candidate for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 elections. Diri's comments followed Duke's earlier statement where he called Diri a "local champion" during an interview on ARISE News. Duke questioned if the coastal highway could be built and if it would be affordable.

Duke argued that the highway was not practical because of the swampy terrain in Bayelsa and the costs of building many bridges along the way. But Diri disagreed, insisting that Bayelsa has experience in building roads and bridges in tough conditions, and the project can work.

Diri mentioned road projects in Bayelsa to counter Duke's claim that the highway was impossible to build. He expressed disappointment that a former governor from the Niger Delta would make comments he viewed as dismissive of Bayelsa and its people.

"The former governor went to ARISE TV. What I saw there was more of an insult," Diri said. He also responded to Duke's claim that he did not know Diri.

"Donald Duke, hear me well, I am not ‘that fellow’. I am an elected, sitting governor of Bayelsa State," he said. "If you claimed you don’t know me, I don’t likewise know you."

Diri argued that as a former governor, Duke should show respect for the office of a governor, no matter their personal views. He dismissed Duke's label of him as a local champion, saying he was elected to represent the people who voted for 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 said.

Later, Diri questioned Duke's record concerning the Bakassi dispute, which led to the transfer of the peninsula to Cameroon after a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling.

"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," Diri said. He accused Duke of not defending local interests while in office, contrasting it with his own dedication to Bayelsa and its people.

Diri said his response was more than just personal; it was about defending the state and its people. "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 said.

"I will stand tall at all times to defend this environment and defend the people of Bayelsa State."

When asked for his thoughts on Diri’s comments, Duke told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday that the governor misunderstood his statement.

"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," Duke said in a text to the reporter.

"I can understand him championing the road within his vicinity. That’s perfectly acceptable. If the road were ever built, I’d be one of its greatest beneficiaries as I live both in Lagos and Calabar. I used Bayelsa only as an example of the challenging terrain the road will have to traverse.

"But honestly, I doubted from the outset the road would be built. I said it then, and I say it again: the road, as we know it, will terminate at Epe, and that’s what has happened.

"And how did I disrespect his office? By disagreeing with him?" the former governor asked.

The argument started after Duke questioned if the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a federal government project set to pass through nine coastal states, could be built. He said Bayelsa's swampy land would complicate construction and questioned the project's importance given Nigeria's other development needs.

Diri, however, pointed out that his government has built roads and bridges in similar areas. He mentioned projects like the Nembe-Brass Road, the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge Road, and the 630-metre bridge over River Nun at Angiama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

In a follow-up response reported by PREMIUM TIMES, Duke stood firm that the existence of roads and bridges in Bayelsa did not answer questions about the coastal highway’s cost, engineering needs, and economic sense.