President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday commissioned
the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Gateway in Onitsha as part of his one-day
official visit to Anambra.
At the occasion, Jonathan said the gateway stands as a
symbol of unity in the South East and prayed that the cause for which the late
warlord was known for would not die.
He said the strategic site of the statue would always
bring to mind the memories of the warlord and urged the people not to allow his
dream to die.
Governor Peter Obi of Anambra said the gateway was the
first point of contact with the South East, hence its choice for the
immortalisation of Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and prayed that the statue would always
touch the minds of the Igbo to think and act as one.
Widow of Odumegwu Ojukwu, Bianca,now an ambassador,
said she was delighted with the decision of the state government to honour her
late husband in a special way.
Also speaking, Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo said the
gateway would surely bind the Igbo together on sighting the statue.
Present at the commissioning were Senators Chris Ngige
and Andy Uba, Representatives Uche Ekwunife, and Victor Ogene as well as former
Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, among others.
President Jonathan also inaugurated the Onitsha Inland
Water Port in Anambra.
Jonathan said at the event that the port would further
boost economic activities in the country.
According to him, there is the need to open up the
country’s waterways to make trade and commerce easier as well as reduce the
workload on the road ntework..
He reiterated his administration’s plan to give some
fillip to rail and water transport, and urged the private sector to collaborate
with the government to create jobs.
Jonathan lauded the government and people of Anambra
for completing the port.
The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said that
the port, which cost N4.6 billion, was one of the numerous ports the Federal
Government was building.
Umar said that three inland water ports in Baro, Niger;
Oguta, Imo, and Yamata, Kogi, would soon be completed and inaugurated.
He thanked the President and the Anambra governor,Peter
Obi, for supporting his ministry in developing water transport.
Obi, who described Onitsha as the biggest commercial
city in Africa, said that the inauguration of the port would make the movement
of goods more efficient. (NAN)