The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, has said he did not have any disagreement with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the Second Niger Bridge.
The onitsha monarch’s position was contained in a statement issued by the chief of staff to the Onitsha traditional council, Chinyelugo Anionwu.
The Obi of Onitsha said he wasn’t involved in any sod-turning ceremony for the bridge during Obasanjo’s first tenure.
In a statement, Achebe said: “His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, Obi of Onitsha, by his position as traditional and natural ruler, should normally not engage publicly in a highlevel discourse on affairs of state between two of our highly respected national leaders, President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. “However, the Palace deems it absolutely necessary to ensure that public statements relating to our monarch are factually correct.”
Accordingly, the Palace would like to state categorically that His Majesty was never involved in any sodturning ceremony for the second River Niger Bridge during the first tenure of President Obasanjo as President of Nigeria and, therefore, could not have engaged in any altercation with the then President as stated in the above statement. “The only involvement of His Majesty with President Obasanjo regarding the Second River Niger Bridge was at the very tail end of his second term as President during a lowkeyed flag-off of the project when His Majesty prayed that the succeeding administration would construct the bridge expeditiously.