*Says “Holy Ghost Will Kill You There”
By Chika Anthony
AWKA — Controversial Anambra-based cleric, Pastor Chukwuemeka Odumeje, popularly known as Odumeje, has blasted the Federal Government over the recent celebration of maintenance works on the Onitsha Head Bridge.
The fiery pastor, in a video currently trending on social media, lambasted government officials for showcasing the old bridge as an achievement, saying it amounts to lack of conscience.
“If I see any of you at Onitsha Head Bridge celebrating that you maintained a 1950s bridge for the South-East, Holy Ghost will kill you there. This country has no conscience,” Odumeje said.
He expressed anger that government media handlers have been displaying pictures and videos of the bridge on the internet as if it was a newly constructed project, without telling Nigerians that the bridge was built over 60 years ago.
“If you see the way the government is showing this bridge everywhere on the internet, you will think it is a newly constructed bridge, without knowing that it is a bridge built years ago,” he said.
Odumeje likened the celebration to someone who parked his car for over 50 years and is celebrating repainting it.
“Imagine someone celebrating his car that he parked for over 50 years after repainting it,” he added.
The cleric’s comment comes amid mixed reactions trailing the Federal Government’s announcement of maintenance and rehabilitation works on the River Niger Bridge, popularly known as Onitsha Head Bridge, which connects the South-East and South-West and serves as a major economic gateway.
The bridge, which was commissioned in 1965 under the administration of former President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and built by the French construction giant, Dumez, has remained the major link for travelers and goods between Onitsha in Anambra State and Asaba in Delta State.
While the Federal Ministry of Works has defended the maintenance as necessary to ensure safety and prolong the lifespan of the bridge, critics like Odumeje argue that what the South-East needs is a brand new infrastructure, particularly the completion of the Second Niger Bridge access roads and other federal projects in the region.
The video has sparked debate online, with many Nigerians agreeing with the cleric that maintenance of old infrastructure should not be presented as new achievements.
