In apparent gratitude for his single-minded effort to complete the project, more than 40 years after it was conceived by the late President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic, Governors of the South East, have reportedly agreed to name the Second Niger Bridge after President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari Sallau, the Presidential spokesman, who made the revelation via his his Facebook page on Tuesday, said the decision, was an outcome of a wilde consultations by the governors, made up of two from the President’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He wrote: “Following consultations, the governors of the South East have agreed that the second Niger Bridge shall be named the Muhammadu Buhari Second Niger Bridge.”
Hope Uzodimma, Imo State Governor, one of the APC members, while echoing the same sentiments, expressed gratitude to the President for fulfilling the promise he made to the geopolitical zone, despite not receiving their votes in the two elections he contested.
“He asked for our votes, we did not give him. He made a promise and now he has fulfilled the promise even though we didn’t vote for him.”
Amplifying Uzodimma’s position, Charles Soludo, his Anambra State, counterpart, also expressed immense gratitude at a ceremony in which Buhari commissioned the project virtually, saying: “As you (Buhari) leave office, the South East will remember you. It would not be inappropriate to call you Mr Infrastructure. This is a promise delivered.”
Tolu Ogunlesi, another presidential spokesman, also confirmed that the governors agreed to name the new bridge after the president, adding: “Following consultations, the governors of the south-east have agreed that the Second Niger Bridge shall be named the Muhammadu Buhari Second Niger Bridge.”
Though the bridge, was opened for one month to ease movement for the travelling public, between December 15, 2022, January 15, 2023, during the Christmas season, it had not been officially commissioned, as some part of the structures were not in place yet.
In a statement on Monday, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s main spokesperson, named the bridge among the seven legacy projects the President was expected to commission on Tuesday.
