Nigeria’s outgoing president has opened a 1.6km (one-mile) bridge crossing the Niger River in the south-east of the country.
Muhammadu Buhari attended the inauguration ceremony virtually, via Zoom, where it was agreed it would be named after him.
It will be known as the Muhammadu Buhari Second Niger Bridge and links the city of Asaba in Delta State to Onitsha in Anambra State.
“Without investing in infrastructure, the road out of poverty is much tougher,” his assistant Buhari Sallau quoted the 80-year-old president as saying.
According to Mr Sallau, Anambra’s governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo said at the opening that it would not be inappropriate to call the president “Mr Infrastructure”.
It has been a busy day for Mr Buhari, who with less than a week left in office, commissioned six other projects over Zoom.
Mr Sallau posted some photos of the virtual events on social media:
PMB VIRTUALLY COMMISSIONS 7-PROJECTS AMONG ARE: 2nd Niger Bridge in Delta/Anambra, Loko-Oweto Bridge in Nassarawa/Benue, Ikom Bridge in Cross River State, Kaduna-Kano Road; Federal Secretariats in Zamfara, Anambra and Bayelsa State, State House Abuja. MAY 23RD 2023 pic.twitter.com/iUse9K2x93
— Buhari Sallau (@Buharisallau1) May 23, 2023
Mr Buhari’s successor as president, Bola Tinubu, will be sworn in on Monday, after he was declared the winner of elections in February.
A election tribunal has said it will begin hearing petitions challenging the outcome the next day.
