APGA, Anambra Govt, ADC, NDC Disagree Over Tinubu Photos On Niger Bridge

The Anambra state government and the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state have expressed opposing views concerning the directive by the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi for the First Niger Bridge to be decorated with the photographs of President Bola Tinubu.

Umahi gave the directive on Wednesday when he inspected the ongoing maintenance work on the bridge saying that the 1.404 kilometre bridge should be decorated with the president’s photographs as a mark of appreciation for the administration’s gesture in rehabilitating the vandalized bridge.

The federal government had ordered closure of the bridge on 7th September, 2026 for two weeks, and, awarded the rehabilitation contract to SKECC to replace all the vandalized bolts, nuts, some of the expansion joints, and, also rehabilitate 100 metres of the road leading to the bridge-heads on its two sides in Anambra and Delta states.

Happy with the quality of maintenance work done on the bridge constructed in the early ’60s before the Nigeria -Biafra civil war, Umahi stated that for undertaking the bridge rehabilitation despite that the people of the South East zone did not give him impressive votes during the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu has shown that he loves the Igbos greatly, and, directed that the bridge should be decorated with the president’s photographs.

Reacting to the development, the chairman of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra state, Chief Ifeatu Obi-okoye described the Minister of Works directive as well deserving for President Tinubu.

Obi-okoye argued that it is a normal practice nationwide to see photographs of the president in virtually every federal establishment saying that decorating the First Niger Bridge with the president’s photographs as directed by the Minister of Works should not be interpreted differently.
“In every federal establishment in the states nationwide, you have the photographs of the president. And in every state, you find the photograph of the president with that of the state governor together in the same poster.

“So, I find absolutely nothing wrong in putting the photographs of the president in the Niger Bridge as directed by the Minister of Works. Every thing shouldn’t be politics. He is the president of the country “, the APGA state chairman stated further.

But the state Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor expressed a contrary view from that of the chairman of the state’s ruling party.

Mefor rather argued that the there are more important tasks that the federal government should be directly attention to than decorating the Niger Bridge with the president’s pictures.

“There are more important things they should be talking about than putting pictures on the bridge.
If they like they can even put Umahi ‘s statues , put president’s statues of that is what is more important to them”, Mefor stated.

Also, in their separate reactions one of the leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state and deputy governorship candidate of the party during the 2025 governorship election in the state, Dr. Ndubuisi Nwobu, and, the state chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Ikem Uzoezie described Minister of Works directive for the First Niger Bridge to be decorated with President Tinubu’s photographs as “sycophancy taken too far”.

The duo particularly argued that President Tinubu did not deserve any gesture of appreciation because his administration carried out maintenance work on the bridge saying that such project formed part of the responsibilities the administration owed the citizens of this country.

They argued further that the funds deployed in the bridge’s rehabilitation is not the president’s personal money but the common wealth, so he does not deserve any personal appreciation for doing what the government should do for the citizens.

“It (Minister of Works directive for the First Niger Bridge to be decorated with President Tinubu’s photographs) is a sycophancy taken too far. The money used in the maintenance of the bridge is not his (Tinubu’s) personal money. The money belongs to the entire citizens of this country.
And what the government has done is that it used the money for the commonwealth to repair the bridge.
“I know that this is an election season. But I can assure you that decorating the Niger Bridge with Tinubu’s picture can never give them any political advantage.

“On the election day, the people will vote whosoever they want”, the ADC chieftain asserted.

Also expressing a similar view as the ADC chieftain, the NDC chairman in the state, and, a former member of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Ikem Uzoezie described Umahi ‘s directive as “Sycophantic” adding that it amount to trying to gain “vain glory” for Tinubu.

“You don’t have to begin to glorify the president for doing a job the administration owes the citizens. The money used in the maintenance work belongs to the citizens of this country, so you don’t have to say that he did any favour by rehabilitating the bridge”, the NDC state chairman stated.

In a similar vain, a legal practitioner, Mr. Chijioke Ndubuisi argued that it is “wrong” to demand appreciation to President Tinubu because his government carried out maintenance work on the First Niger Bridge, as according to him decorating the bridge with the photographs of the president would “deface” the bridge.
“It is wrong to deface the bridge with photos of the president because his government did rehabilitation work in the bridge. The optics will be wrong “, Chijioke asserted.
Meanwhile, efforts to get reaction of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Senator Emma Anosike were unsuccessful as he did not pick call put through to his mobile phone, not return the calls as at the time of filing this report.
He did not also reply to a chat to his WhatsApp platform.