EKO HOT BLOG reports that the apex socio-political organization of the Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has kicked against the plan of the Federal Government to toll the just-opened 2nd Niger Bridge.
Recall that the Second Niger Bridge was temporarily opened to traffic on December 15, 2022, to improve traveler convenience during the holiday break. The bridge will be closed on January 15, 2023, for the final phase of the construction.
The 1.6-kilometer-long bridge connects Anambra and Delta states.
The then-candidate for the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Shehu Shagari, first suggested building the Second Niger Bridge during the electoral campaign in 1978–1979.
During the administration of then-President Goodluck Jonathan, the Federal Executive Council authorized a contract for the bridge’s final planning and design worth N325 million in August 2012.
On September 1, 2018, President Muhammad Buhari renewed the project after initially canceling the original contract in August 2015.
The government of President Muhammadu Buhari finally constructed the bridge, and it was opened for a limited time in December.
Afterward, reports had it that the minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, had announced that the bridge would be tolled to fund maintenance.
In reaction to that, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s publicity secretary, Alex Ogbonnia, told Punch that such a move would harm the performance of President Buhari’s administration.
He said: “It will amount to ‘impoverishment’ to toll the bridge. Is there any other highway in Nigeria where there is a toll gate? So, this is strange. It is like imposing unnecessary taxation on the people.
“You see, today, everywhere you go, you will meet one checkpoint or the other. Checkpoints are like toll gates; they collect money from people.
“These corrupt military or security personnel collecting money from the public, and now the government is setting up another toll gate, all these things are a punishment to the populace.
“There is no other toll gate in any other part of Nigeria except this one that they are proposing. They won’t be able to reconcile their rationale for a toll gate. It is not proper.”
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