The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has dismissed comments made by former Cross River State governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, regarding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.Duke, in an interview with Arise News on Tuesday, criticised the Federal Government for embarking on the ₦15 trillion project, arguing that the funds could be better spent on electricity, healthcare, or upgrading existing roads. He claimed the highway would not extend beyond Epe in Lagos State, citing swampy terrain in Bayelsa and other coastal areas.“There is already a road to Calabar. If the road is poor, fix it. I don’t think that road is going to go beyond Epe,” Duke said, adding that the project reflected misplaced priorities.Responding via his X handle on Wednesday, Ajayi insisted Duke’s remarks were misleading, stressing that construction had already advanced beyond Lagos.“While Duke was talking on TV that the coastal highway won’t go beyond Epe, the project has reached Ogun State, and work is going on on the Ondo and Akwa Ibom sections,” Ajayi wrote.Ajayi further accused Duke of playing politics, saying critics were ignoring visible progress on the project, which has been renamed the President Bola Tinubu Coastal Highway.The highway, one of the largest infrastructure projects in Nigeria’s history, is expected to link Lagos to Calabar through several coastal states, with the government touting it as a catalyst for economic growth and regional connectivity.