Boss Mustapha says Igbo leaders left Aso Rock convinced Buhari is serious about Second Niger Bridge

SECRETARY to the federal government Boss Mustapha has revealed that Igbo leaders who visited President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday left convinced that the federal government has indeed started work on the Second Niger Bridge.

Yesterday, several deputy senate president Senator Ike Ekweremadu led a delegation that included three governors to meet with President Buhari in Aso Rock. According to Mr Mustapha, the meeting was called to debunk the impression that the federal government was not doing enough for southeast, adding that the region's political investment in the re-election of President Buhari in 2019 would determine its fate in 2023.

Mr Mustapha said: “We received a very high-powered delegation today led by the deputy president of the senate and three of their governors, a deputy governor and the director-general of the South East Governors Forum. I think it is a remarkable visit because they came essentially to thank the president over the major activities that have taken place in the southeast.

“They appreciate the fact that the second Niger Bridge was a paper issue in the last five, six decades but now they are convinced that the decision to complete the Niger Bridge is real as the contract has been awarded by this government for N206bn. It is a mark of appreciation for the leadership that President Muhammadu Buhari is providing for this country.

“The southeast is an integral part of this country, so it must be accorded its appropriate place in the scheme of things and we believe strongly that this particular government has extended its hands of friendship to the southeast.”

He expressed hope that Igbo leaders would continue to cooperate with the government to ensure the development of their people and bringing prosperity, peace and tranquillity to the area. Furthermore he reiterated that the Buhari administration would continue to do everything possible to ensure the speedy development of the zone as well as other parts of the country.

Mr Boss said: “You remember there was a programme in the southeast where the president asked me to represent him and I flew the kite by telling the southeast states that their quickest and easiest means to presidency is to support Buhari’s second term. This means that they can short-circuit the period in terms of only having him there for another four years.

“Whatever they do in 2019 will determine what will happen thereafter because politics is a game of numbers and it is like a cooperative society. Whatever you bring as an investment when dividends are going to be shared, you will get proportionate with your investment and your investment in politics is what you bring to the table.

“I urge the southeast to look at this matter seriously that every time we have a presidency in Nigeria, it is negotiated in several ways. It is either negotiated by votes or what you bring to the table and you must negotiate from the position of strength, you can’t negotiate from the point of weakness.”