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The First Niger Bridge linking Anambra and Delta states will be decorated with pictures of President Bola Tinubu after the completion of ongoing rehabilitation works, Minister of Works David Umahi has said.
Umahi gave the directive on Wednesday while inspecting the rehabilitation of the bridge, which was shut to traffic earlier this month following the discovery that vandals had removed critical structural components, including bolts, nuts and parts of the expansion joints.
The minister ordered the removal of illegal advertisements mounted on the bridge and directed that the space be used to display pictures of Tinubu.
“Once we are done with work on this bridge, I want all the illegal adverts on this bridge removed,” Umahi said.
“Anyone who wants to advertise should apply to the Ministry of Works. For now, the bridge will be decorated with the pictures of President Tinubu.”
Explaining the decision, Umahi said the display would recognise what he described as Tinubu’s infrastructure investments in the South-East.
“The President has worked so hard and we need to reward his hard work by decorating this bridge with his pictures,” he said.
Umahi, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress, also used the inspection to appeal to voters in the South-East ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He urged residents of the region not to “throw away” their votes, arguing that the Tinubu administration had continued to execute projects in the South-East despite the region’s limited support for the President in the 2023 election.
“I want to say to Ndigbo that we should not throw away our votes in 2027. In the last election we did not vote for him so well, yet he is bringing projects to our region,” Umahi said.
The minister also challenged supporters of Peter Obi to identify projects the former Anambra State governor had attracted to the South-East.
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“Peter Obi is our brother and we do not hate him, but we need to be realistic this time,” Umahi said.
“I don’t care about people abusing me on social media, they should only tell us what Obi has attracted to the South-East.”
Umahi said he was proud of Tinubu’s record in the region and maintained that the President deserved recognition for the infrastructure projects being undertaken by his administration.
His comments came as rehabilitation of the First Niger Bridge approaches completion.
The bridge was originally scheduled to reopen on September 21, but the reopening was delayed by a week because of persistent rainfall that affected the repair works. Umahi said the Federal Government would not reopen the bridge until the critical structural work had been completed.
“We will be here next week to open the bridge,” he said.
The rehabilitation has involved replacing vandalised bolts and expansion joints, repairs to the carriageway and walkways, installation of CCTV cameras and streetlights, as well as other structural work.
Umahi also directed the governors of Anambra and Delta to monitor scrap markets in their states, warning that the trade could contribute to the vandalism of public infrastructure.
He said the government would continue structural assessments of the bridge and take additional measures, including restrictions on dredging activities where necessary.
The minister further directed that no security checkpoint should be established within 200 metres of the bridge, warning that such checkpoints could worsen traffic congestion and put additional pressure on the structure.
The First Niger Bridge remains a major transport link between the South-East and other parts of the country, connecting Onitsha in Anambra State with Asaba in Delta State.
