Some residents of Tatabu in Niger have urged Federal Government to hasten emergency repair of the collapsed Tatabu Bridge in the state to revive agricultural and economic activities.
The residents also urged Federal Government to reconstruct the FADAMA III irrigation dam which was affected by flood due to the collapsed bridge, thereby hampering activities.
They made the calls when the Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Alhaji Suleiman Zarma inspected the collapsed bridge in Tatabu, along Tegina-Mokwa-Jebba road in Niger on Saturday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
Zarma and some ministry officials were on assessment tour to Federal Government’s road and housing projects in North-Central.
Mr Baba Adamu, a representative of the indigenes of Tatabu said the collapsed bridge had affected
agricultural and economic activities in the area.
Adamu said the collapsed bridge led to heavy flooding that washed away FADAMA III irrigation dam, thereby affecting farming activities in the area.
He added that the dam, which was located at the downstream of the bridge, was constructed under FADAMA III additional funding for all year round farming.
He noted that “the irrigation dam, located some metres away, has been washed away because of the collapsed bridge and railways and roads are equally affected.
“We are now left without farming, the Federal Government should try and put all these in order so that farming activities will resume.”
Another resident, Mrs Grace Kure, expressed joy over the ongoing emergency repair of the bridge by government, saying “at least we can start our farming activities after the repair work.”
Kure also urged government to award another contract for the construction of water ways to avoid flooding in the area.
The minister, while inspecting the emergency repair of the bridge being done by CGC Nigeria Ltd, recalled that the bridge collapsed in 2017 and was awarded for repair on June 16, 2017, saying it would be completed by June 2018.
According to him, Nigeria lost a lot of economic resources because of the impediment in movement of goods and services within the period of the collapse.
“It is good that the bridge is near completion, we have a commitment from the contractor that it will be completed in June.
“For every good engineering undertaking, it takes a lot of time to rebuild because you have to conceptualise what happened or caused the collapse to have a better replacement.
“It takes time to design what will stand the test of time, it takes time to procure and know the volume of traffic on the road, the ministry will ensure its completion by June.’’
Zarma said N2.5 billion was spent on the emergency repair of the bridge and 95.5 per cent of the work had been completed.