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From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday, announced the completion of work on the second Niger Bridge, but said its commissioning for public use would be delayed because flood has overtaken access roads to the facility.
The disclosure came on the heels of the ministry’s acting Federal Controller of Works in Anambra State, Seyi Martins’ announcement, earlier this month, that the bridge would be ready for use in December 2022.
Latest developments indicate that the second phase, which includes access roads from Asaba, Delta State and Onitsha, Anambra State, were yet to be completed because floods have impeded work along the axis.
The minister disclosed this at a parley with media executives, in Abuja, yesterday, on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration scorecard between 2015-2023.
“All controllers have been asked to assess the cost of rehabilitation, where necessary and also, restoration. We have a departmental meeting today to receive the report. We’re in touch with our colleague in the National Assembly, working on this…We’re not idle, we’re already coordinating a response…We want to make this as less painful as possible. We will wait for the flood to recede a little…The bridge itself is finished. What remains is a four kilometre road, on the Asaba side but flood has slowed us down. On the Ontisha side, we’ve covered five, out of the seven kilometres. We’re racing against time but the flooding has slowed us down.”
Asked to be specific on when the bridge would be ready for use, Fashola said: “The commitment I made on the second Niger bridge is that before this administration leaves, it would be operational. What I was targeting was that it would be used by Christmas. The purpose was to plan for large communal movement that happens (during) Christmas.
“If we can open the bridge, even before commissioning, it would be better. Right now, we can’t work there because it’s flooded. I don’t know when the flood will recede. We need to access the bridge and we’ll do our best…Take it as given that we will hand it over before the end of our term.”
On flooding crisis in parts of the country, he said Fedetal Government and the National Assembly would meet to fashion out a national response.
On the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Fashola said part of the delay was because the Oyo State government was building drainage across the road.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, explained that the parley became imperative because “naysayers have attempted to play down the massive and unprecedented achievements of the Buhari administration.
“Despite attempts in some circles to downplay the achievements of this administration, I have no scintilla of doubt that history will be fairer and posterity will be kind to us. Those whose trips have been shortened and smoothened by good roads and bridges will remember those who built those roads and bridges; those who use the modern terminals at our airports will remember who built them. Those who ride on modern trains along Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Itakpe-Warri will not forget those who made that happen. And, the 9.8 million school children who are fed daily, the one million youth that have been empowered as well as the 500,000 who are undergoing trainings under the N-Power and the 1,632,480 households that have been enrolled in the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme will not forget…”
