Ohanaeze Ndigbo Caretaker Committee has told the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, that President Jonathan lied to the Igbo people about awarding contract for the construction of Second Niger bridge and major federal roads in the South East.
A delegation of the pan-Igbo cultural group pointed up Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway and Enugu-Umuahia-Aba Expressway as palpableexmple of neglect by the outgoing administration.
The committee led by Chief Ralp Obiora, said that up till now, work is yet to start at the sites.
Despite the fanfare with which Jonathan’s administration announced the award of contract for the Second Niger Bridge, the delegation said that regrettably no financial commitment had been made by the Federal Government to commence the construction of the bridge.
The committee, which was in Abujato to Buhari to congratulate for his overwheming victory at the polls said the case of the bridge was typical of deceptive campaign messages by President Jonathan to Ndigbo.
Part of the requests tabled before the president elect by the delegation was the revisitation of the report of Oputa Panel and the issue of abandoned property in the country.
Chief Obiora, who spoke on behalf of the committee, said: “This is a delegation of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Caretaker Committee, who proudly took side with you, convinced that what Nigeria needs today is the leadership that you will provide to rebuild our battered and pulverised nation.
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Caretaker Committee is fully aware of the difficult and daunting work that has befallen on your shoulders. And we are here to offer our commitment that Ndigbo will stand shoulder to shoulder with you on this mission to reconstruct our nation. “We are also aware that our cry of marginalization is not unique to our region, but ours stands out as an SOS case as a region criminally neglected and abandoned by the outgoing administration.
“During your campaign tours, you saw things for yourself and needless reminding Your Excellency that South-east is an emergency case. You drove through the badly neglected and impassable Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway and the Enugu-Umuahia-Aba Expressway, needless to mention the Oba-Okigwe Highway.
“Contrary to the election claims by the outgoing administration, no appreciable work is going on these roads, information has shown that no financial arrangement has been firmed up for the Second Nigeria Bridge. The Oputa Panel report has been gathering dust and Ndigbo have pleaded for the revisitation of the so-called abandoned property in Nigeria and its collateral reparation demand.
“One common denominator is that unknown to a vast majority of Nigerians, Ndigbo were the silent majority supporters of General Muhammadu Buhari, GMB, but a twist of “what is wrong with Nigerian” electoral result cannot prove it. Obioha also made a case for the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, to be ceded to the South-east.
“This body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Caretaker Committee, is a baby conceived by Chris Ngige and delivered by Chief Mbazulike Ameachi and handed over to Ndigbo to check excesses of the people who were just agents of a pre-determined agenda.
“Your Excellency, you were aware that the South-east was targeted by the PDP rigging machine which produced an election result that denied the zone of even a single senator and only three non-ranking House of Representatives members. “Ndigbo request that you adopt the principle of necessity to give the zone the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation which is your prerogative and in addition, a position of one Presiding Officer in the House of Representatives.”
A member of the delegation, Senator Chris Ngige said that though the party was yet to make a categorical statement on the issue of SGF, he was optimistic that it would eventually consider the South- east.
“Well, I was in the first delegation that came the last time, but we cannot say for now that our party has zoned the position of SGF to the South-east because we have a Senate committee that is still working on distribution of party offices, executive and that of legislature which is where we have the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker of the House of the Representative as presiding officers”.
Buhari was said to have assured them of equity and “that he is going to treat the entire nation as his constituency for all.”
