Emmanuel Ikechukwu
Truth they say will always triumph over lies. This was the message the Coalition of Civil Societies for the Emancipation of Edo State, CCSE tried to pass across to the Governor of Edo State Adams Oshiomole, as they called on him to take the path of honour and apologise to Nigerians for misleading and misinforming them over his alleged statement that N140 billion had been expended on consultancy services for the 2nd Niger Bridge project.
The governor had also alleged that $700 million was surreptitiously moved from the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, for the same bridge.
This is coming on the heels of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA’s, declaration, that it had only spent about N14 billion on the project and that the money include N10 billion as part of the N18.3 billion so far released by the Federal Government for the project, which had been disbursed for early construction work on the bridge.
NSIA also said that about $2.2 million only had been spent as consultancy on the project, including feasibility studies, legal due diligence, environmental impact assessment, traffic studies, and engineering design.
Lampooning Oshiomhole over his antics and unverified statements, Coordinator CCSE, Mr. Okharedia Ihimekpen, said Oshiomhole must tender apology to Nigerians, and put a stop to his inflammatory statements.
