Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has desribed President Muhammadu Buhari as a hero to the people of the South East following the commissioning of the Second Niger Bridge.
He stated this in Onitsha, the commercial nerve of Anambra State, during the official commissioning and handover of the bridge renamed after President Muhammadu Buhari, and the federal secretariat complex built in Awka named after the first female engineer and Head of Civil Service, Mrs Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke.
Uzodinma hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for completing the Second Niger Bridge and other infrastructural projects in the South East region.
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The governor, who described the new bridge as a link to Old Eastern and Old Western regions of Nigeria, said the President by delivering the project had become a hero to him (Uzodinma) and the entire Igbo nation.
“We have cried to many government for years yet the projects were not done. The state of the First Niger Bridge make it difficult for our people returning for Christmas and other festivities to sometimes spend five days or more on the road. We thank President Buhari for delivering the projects even though he begged for our votes but we didn’t give him our votes. He is a hero to me and people of South East,” he stated.
In his remarks, Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, wished the President well as he prepared to leave office, come May 29, 2023. He commended him for completing the projects in the South East.
Soludo also said that the Second Niger Bridge would boost economic activities and ease of doing business in the Imo and Anambra and other states, while impacting positively on the lives of the poor and the rich.
Other speakers, including the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige and his colleague from the Ministry of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said that the southern part of Nigeria would remember the Buhari-led administration as the two projects would reduce the cost of governance and transportation as well.
Earlier, President Buhari, who spoke visually, during the official commissioning of the projects described the Second Niger Bridge as a choice bridge and a reality.
He said the bridge was among numerous infrastructural projects his administration completed nationwide.
He said the bridge would equally serve as means of connectivity, interaction and integration between regions, states and communities.
“It will reduce travel time, improve business efficiency, timeliness and service delivery. I declare them open for public use. They were funded from recovered assets and others. Our anti-corruption drive are yielding positive results,” he stated.
