A political stalwart, Chief Chekwas Okolie; the former chairman of APGA, former UPP Presidential Candidate and the current Chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP) has condemned the award of second Niger Bridge to a PPP organization at an over bloated cost of over one hundred and seventeen billion naira. (N117b). He is of the opinion that the bridge will cost less than half of the price if it were to be done by the government. He said that the government should do the bridge as it has been constructing bridges across the nation without going into partnership with anybody. “Many bridges in Nigeria are done by the government. Why should they build bridge for the Igbos to be paying tax when using it?” he queried.
The construction of the second Niger Bridge is under the supervision of an agency that has been going round trying to convince some prominent Igbo leaders to believe that the project is worth the cost. They are also delaying takeoff of the project because they perceived that well-meaning Igbo leaders are against the wrong arrangement that Igbos will pay tax when they use the bridge on completion.
The above revelation was made to some news men by Chief Chekwas Okorie in Abuja. On the current impasse in the National Assembly (NASS), he said it is not new in Nigeria politics. He reminded his audience that Sen. Wash Pam was the Deputy to Sen. Joseph Wayas and that both of them were from different parties. “What happened is what I will refer to as high wired politics”, he asserted.
Chief Okorie dismissed the insinuation that the Igbos have lost out in the political game at NASS. “The Igbos have not lost out. Many Igbos who had opportunity misguided the Igbos. Those who think that the APC government will do without the Igbos are doing political miscalculation”, he corrected.
The Party big wig spoke about the prospect of his party, UPP, in 2019 election. He said that the level of modern and enlightened way they went about partisan politics in the last election made people believe that the party has something to offer the nation if voted to power. “UPP’s prospect has become bright and it will contest in 2019. Many progressive Nigerians have realized that UPP can offer something appreciable if voted in power”, he declared.
On the leadership of the Pan Igbo organization, Ohaneze, he regretted that people who did not know the aim of the organization are politicizing it. He educated his audience that he was one of the founding members of the body in 1976. He is advocating for an umbrella organization for the Igbos that will not be political. “Ohaneze has failed and Igbo people are looking for another group that will not be political”, he concluded.
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