Presidential spokesperson, Laolu Akande, has reacted to a comment credited to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on release of fund for construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge.
Akande made a clarification on Tuesday after some reports quoted Osinbajo as announcing $2billion instead of N2 billion for the project.
The Presidential aide said that during the APC Governorship campaign in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Oct. 20, Osinbajo reiterated the Buhari administration’s commitment to keeping its promises to the Nigerian people.
He said, “I did quote the VP as saying that “the Sovereign Wealth Fund paid N2 billion for that same project (Sum paid to the contractor: Julius Berger for early works).
“We will definitely see our second Niger Bridge, we will not make promises we cannot keep,” Akande recalled.
Akande said that a short video clip from the event captured on the news segment of a television channel quoted Osinbajo as mentioning “$2bn”, and not “N2bn”, which was what he had actually meant to say.
“Mentioning the dollar currency was inadvertent.
“As it happened, the excerpt from the video, which was shared online, was what was quoted in the headlines of some media houses, and in comments on social media.
“The figures were misplaced. Kindly set the records straight, from the speech I had sent.
“Please note, again, the sum provided for this is actually two billion naira (N2 billion),’’ Akande added.
At the event, Osinbajo expressed the commitment of the administration to improve the country’s transportation network and economy.
“The APC government is a government that will do everything it has promised. We are not making promises for nothing.
“The second Niger Bridge we have been talking about it for a long time, but for the first time, the President went by himself to negotiate the facility to do that second Niger Bridge.
“That is why the second Niger Bridge is in our current budget and we have provided for it,” the Vice President said.
