The Indigenous People of Biafra have said the naming of the Second Niger Bridge after the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is unacceptable to them.
During the commissioning of the bridge in Onitsha, on Tuesday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said, “After consultation with the South-East governors and other stakeholders, they decided to name the bridge Muhammadu Buhari Second Niger Bridge”.
But reacting to the development in a statement on Thursday, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, claimed the action of the South-East governors amounted to “a betrayal” of the people of the region.
Powerful, therefore, asked the governors and politicians to reconsider their position on the name of the bridge.
The statement partly reads, “The bridge should be named after Dr Alex Ekweueme, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, Dr Sam Mbakwe, Prof. Chinua Achebe, Col. Achuzie, or many others that are well-deserving Igbo indigenes that anyone can suggest.
“Naming the Second Niger Bridge after Buhari must not be allowed. The bridge must be renamed to a meritorious Igbo name.”
Punch