South East/Igbo APC Progressives Roundtable, SIAPRO, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, which was commissioned on Tuesday.
SIAPRO, in a statement jointly signed by its Director General, Dr Uche Diala; National Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Molokwu; and the National Publicity Secretary, Mr Charles Kaye Okoye, described the Bridge as the “biggest and most significant singular infrastructural project in the Eastern region since after the civil war.”
The group recalled the setbacks that attended the project since it was birthed in 2005.
The statement reads in part: “This commissioning [of the Bridge] is indeed a promise kept by President Buhari to Nigerians and Ndi Igbo.
“It would be recalled that as part of its checkered history, the second Niger Bridge was conceptualised in 2005 after several years of dilly-dallying over the bridge which became somewhat of a politicking tool in the hands of politicians and successive administrations.
“In 2014, there was an attempt to begin the project through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, which was unsuccessful. The actual construction of the Bridge finally began in 2016 under the Muhammadu Buhari administration with the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF).”
SIAPRO, therefore, expressed gratitude to President Buhari for “this singular legacy project which has once more lifted the pride of Ndi Igbo and which will undoubtedly impact positively on the lives and livelihoods of not only Igbos but other Nigerians who would use the Bridge for decades to come.”
The group added: “As you hand over the reins of office to your successor, President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we wish you well and we pray that the South East will enjoy even more dividends of democracy from your successor.”
The Second Niger Bridge was one of eight projects the President commissioned yesterday.
The other projects consist of two major bridges, three federal secretariats, a road and a new corporate headquarters for the Nigeria Customs Service.
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