Prophet Chukwuemeka Cyril Ohanaemere, known as Odumeje, is not impressed. The South East clergyman has attacked the Federal Government for celebrating repairs to the Onitsha Overhead Bridge.
The Federal Government completed structural rehabilitation on the First Niger Bridge, also called Onitsha Bridge Head.
The bridge was shut on September 7, 2026, after vandals damaged steel bolts, nuts and expansion joints. It reopened on September 24.
The government publicised the repairs widely. Odumeje said the celebration is misplaced.
“If I see any of you at Onitsha Head Bridge celebrating that you maintained a 1950s bridge for the South-East, Holy Ghost will kpaiii you there,” he said in his church. “This country has no conscience.”
Odumeje said the government is presenting an old bridge as new.
“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.
He compared it to a man repainting a car he parked for decades. “Imagine someone celebrating his car that he parked for over 50 years after repainting it,” he said.
The Onitsha Bridge is a key link between the South East and the rest of Nigeria. It carries heavy traffic daily. Its closure in September caused long delays and diverted vehicles to alternative routes.
Odumeje’s comments seemed to have resonated with many. The South East region has often complained it has been neglected for decades, although David Umahi, appointed Works Minister by the current government has made frantic efforts to convince the region otherwise.
Some wondered why the minister is pushing mere repairs as major achievements of the central government for the region at a time other regions are getting bit ticket projects.
The clergyman is known for blunt sermons and public criticism of government policies.
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