Speakers urge govt to build second Niger Bridge, others
From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri
IF the speakers of Houses of Assembly of South East geo-political zone had their way the Federal Government may soon construct a second Niger Bridge and dredge the River Niger.
A proposal for the Federal Government to embark on these projects was part of an eight-point statement that emerged from the meeting of the Assemblymen in Owerri, the Imo State capital at the weekend.
The co-ordinator of the South East States Speakers, Chief Kelechi Nwagwu, who is the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, read the statement on behalf of his colleagues to journalists.
The statement also urged all Igbo sons and daughters to begin work for the emergence of President of an Igbo extraction in 2007.
Except for the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Christopher Omoisu, who was not personally absent, others in the zone attended. Omoisu, however, sent his majority leader, Chief Jobias Okwuru to represent him.
Others at the forum were Abia State Speaker Stanley Ohajuruka, his Anambra State counterpart, Michael Batonwu, and that of Enugu State, Chief Abel Chukwu.
The Deputy Chief Whip of Ebonyi State House of Assembly Tony Onu and Charles Ubah representing Ideato North in Imo Assembly also attended the opening ceremony.
They also lamented that the Federal Government was yet to restore full security to the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, despite all legal rights and pronouncements by relevant authorities to that effect, urging Federal Government to restore governor's security team without delay.
While praising President Olusegun Obasanjo for his economic enhancement policies, the group decried the deduction at source of revenue allocation to states.
It stressed that this was stalling developmental projects of South East states.
The statement reads in part: "Conference calls for the immediate commencement of construction work on the second Niger Bridge and the dredging of the River Niger in order to enhance economic activities in the South East and Nigeria as a whole."
On the 2007 Presidency, the caucus said: "The conference having considered in details the Igbo presidency project and unanimously urged all Igbo of South East geo-political zone both at home and in the diaspora to unite towards the full realisation of this laudable project, which it hope would remove all vestiges of marginalisation against Ndigbo as currently observed in the body polity of Nigeria."
The statement signed by all the speakers also faulted the bill on revenue and allocation to local councils now before the National Assembly as violation of the 1999 Constitution and violations of the powers and functions of the states.
On the recent upgrade of Enugu Airport to an international status, the speakers urged the Federal Government to release funds so as not to delay construction work on it.
They also called on the governors of the South East who had earlier met on Friday night at Awka to expedite action on reviving Igbo culture and inter-state sporting competitions.
Earlier in his welcome address, Nwagwu had praised President Ousegun Obasanjo for keeping the unity of the country intact, stressing that in the area of foreign reserve, communications, power supply, healthcare, poverty alleviation and creation of employment, the government had done much.
He called on both the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PPD), Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the party, Chief Tony Anenih to work urgently on the zone's requests.
