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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
A nonprofit media organisation, the Godshield Kanjal Journalism Foundation, (GKJF) and some community leaders have called on Governor Prince Bassey Otu to immediately fix the dilapidated and deadly bridge in shi-Aya in Ogoja local government area of Cross River state.
The Godshield Kanjal Journalism Foundation, (GKJF) seeks to tell the untold stories in hard-to-reach and underserved communities.
The founder of the organisation, Godshield Kanjal, who made the call after the on-the-spot visit to the dilapidated bridge for its community Vox Pop Initiative, said the bridge is of much economic benefits to the people and connects Ejama and Ibil communities in Yala and Ogoja local government area respectively.
Kanjal said the bridge has caused untold pains to the two communities as it has become a dead trap to farmers who convey their agricultural produce through the bridge to the market.
It is against this background that we “call on the governor of Cross River State, Sen. Bassey Otu, o immediately intervene by fixing the dilapidated bridge which has become a dead trap.
“These two communities in Yala and Ogoja are agrarian in nature and they convey their agricultural products thorough this bridge to the markets for onward sales. But as you can see, the two neighboring communities have been cut off.”
Maitianing that the locals are suffering, he said they have also contacted the Senator representing Cross River North who happens to come from this community, Jarigbe Agom, to come to the aid of the communities.
Also calling for help, one of the community leaders, Emmanuel Alaga, 35, said: “This bridge has been in this deplorable state since more than two years and we have just been managing it like this.
“We have been looking for a way to convey our message to relevant authorities but to no avail, thank God you GKJF have come to see things for yourself.
“Please take our message to relevant authorities in Government to come and rehabilitate the only bridge we have. We are suffering,” he said.
Another villager and farmer, Martina Awum, called on government to intervene immediately to uplift the economy of the two local government areas.
