Both monarchs commended the Federal Government for deeming it necessary to construct the project in the interest of Nigerians. The Second Niger Bridge passed through both communities.
Prince Ezenwa, who spoke to journalists in Oba, on Wednesday, charged the government to ensure the speedy completion of the project as contained in its specification.
He noted that the proposed tollgate on the bridge was also a way of providing security and other amenities on the bridge.
The monarch advised the motoring public not be worried about the establishment of tollgate on the bridge but should look at the benefits it would offer.
He added that tollgate was not only a place to spend money but can also serve as a relaxation centre with secured environment, where motorists can unwind and ease themselves travelling from long distances.
He said, “Tollgate should not only be at the Second Niger Bridge, it should also be established in all nooks and crannies of the country at a distance of 100 kilometres, as it was before its abrogation by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo regime.
“Nigerians should not look at toll gates as only a place they would spend money but as a relaxation centre with secured environment. It should be seen as a place of relaxation where motorists can stop, eat, refresh, rest before taking off.
“About 90 per cent of road accidents we record on our highways are caused by fatigue because motorists have no where like toll gate to relax, rest, refresh and do shopping before taking off again.”
On his part, the Obosi traditional ruler, Igwe Chidubem Iweka III, conferred a chieftaincy title on one of the expatriates engineers saying that he was impressed about the project.
He said, “I and the Obosi community are impressed about the bridge and the community decided to confer a chieftaincy title of Agu Simba (Lion from another land) on the project manager of Julius Berger Nigeria Limited, the contractor handling the project, Mr Frederick Weisser, during our recent annual Obiora cultural festival, thus making Weisser a member of Obosi royal cabinet.”
One of the motorists who passed through the bridge on Wednesday, who identified himself as Samuel Onwuegbuchulam, commended expressed excitement about the temporary opening of the bridge, saying it eased traffic for travellers.
Onwuegbuchulam, who was returning from Lagos for the Yuletide, said, “I am very happy that the federal government has for the first time done something tangible in Igbo land.
“Since I was born in 1967, I have never seen any project sited in Igbo land, except this Second Niger Bridge. If not for this Second Niger Bridge, I would not have reached Obosi from Lagos by now.
“I would have been stalled in a usual traffic jam at the first Niger bridge. So, I am very grateful to the federal government for achieving this feat and I implore them not to relent until the project is fully completed.”
