Breaking: FG Announces Completion of 2nd Niger Bridge Amidst Doubts

The Federal government has announced the completion of the Second Niger Bridge 16 years after it was started by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The announcement was made in Abuja by Babatunde Raji Fashola during a press briefing to present the scorecard of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The bridge, one of the cardinal projects of the administration linking the south east with other parts of the country, was not started by the incumbent, but much work has been done on the project since it came to office in 2015.

Meanwhile, the announcement contravenes, last week’s admonition of the government that it has shifted the completion of the bridge to 2024, citing other works that need to be done before it can be put to use.

“The bridge project was expected to be delivered by the end of December 2022, but there is a second phase which is a 3.3km road approach on the Delta side and 7km of approach road on the Anambra side that is yet to commence.

“But the government has deemed it fit that upon completion of the first phase, it will be open to traffic.

“At the Onitsha end, there is an interchange at Oba, where motorists can access the bridge, while at the Asaba end, there is a link road we are constructing to enable travellers to access the bridge from Benin-Onitsha road,” Seyi Martin, Acting Federal Controller of Works in Anambra State, said earlier in the month.

Speaking on the issue, Fashola disclosed that the project has been completed except for some auxiliary works that needs to be done.

The minister said, “I can confirm that the second Niger bridge itself is finished. People can walk through the bridge now unimpeded. What remains is the four-kilometer link road on the Asaba side.

“Right now, our dredger is in place, we have to rebuild the road by reclaiming sand, the recent surge of flood has slowed us down. On the Onitsha side, there is a 7kilometer road that links the bridge and the Onitsha-Owerri interchange.”

The multi-billion-naira 2nd Niger Bridge linking Delta and Anambra states was started by the administration of President Obasanjo on May 24, 2007. His successor, President Goodluck Jonathan continued with the project, and when the incumbent took over the government in 2015 he promised to complete the bridge before the end of his tenure in 2023.