Ohanaeze Ndigbo, apex socio-political organisation in the
south-east, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the completion of the
Second Niger Bridge.
The bridge was officially opened on Thursday.
In a statement issued on Friday, Chiedozie Ogbonnia, the
group’s national publicity secretary, said with the completion of the bridge,
Buhari has kept his promise.
“The Second Niger Bridge is a key national infrastructure with immense socio-economic benefits not only for the contiguous states but for the entire nation,” the statement reads.
“The clamour for a
second Niger bridge became necessary shortly after the Nigerian Civil War. The
first Niger Bridge was commissioned in 1965 and shortly after, the Nigerian
civil war broke out in 1967.
“The bridge was, therefore, not exempted from the
devastating effects of the war. The Second Niger Bridge has been a major
concern to the Igbo for over fifty years because of two major reasons. Apart
from the traffic lock jam on top of the bridge, the greatest fear was that the
bridge had evidence of cracks such that the stress of weights on the bridge
could collapse all the vehicles and their contents into the River Niger with
untold consequences.
“Based on the general clamour for a second Niger Bridge, the
former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, in 1992, challenged the
Nigerian engineers to come up with a design of the second bridge.
“It was believed that
upon completion, the bridge will ease traffic flow, allay fears, improve road
safety and create greater road user confidence among the commuters.
“Several administrations had used the Second Niger Bridge as
bait for the Igbo, especially during the political campaigns.
“When President Buhari promised that he will complete the
second Niger Bridge, not many believed, especially when he could not conceal
his lopsided political appointments and other resource allocations against the
South East.
“On assumption of office as the President General of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, in the company
of several APC government officials on February 6, 2021, visited the site
wherein he enthused that the ‘people of the Southeast would continue to be
grateful to the present federal government for hearkening to the needs of the
Ndigbo’.
“Surely, President
Buhari did not start the work on the bridge, but in a maladjusted society where
the abandoned projects far outnumber the completed ones, to deliver a vital
infrastructure that should have been taken for granted attracts immense
jubilation amongst the Igbo.
“While the Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Obiozor heartily
appreciates Mr President on the Second Niger Bridge, it is hoped that Mr
President will use the remaining few months in office to pursue some other
transcendental objectives which will write his name with gold in the sands of
time.”
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