The First Niger Bridge, which connects Anambra and Delta states, will be decorated with pictures of President Bola Tinubu when ongoing rehabilitation work is completed, Minister of Works David Umahi has directed.
Umahi gave the directive on Wednesday during an inspection of the rehabilitation work on the bridge, which was temporarily closed after vandals removed critical components, including bolts, nuts and parts of its expansion joints.
The minister ordered that all illegal advertisements on the bridge be removed after the rehabilitation and replaced with pictures of President Tinubu.
He said the move was intended to acknowledge what he described as the President’s efforts to provide infrastructure and development projects in the South-East.
“Once we are done with work on this bridge, I want all the illegal adverts on this bridge removed. 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,” Umahi said.
“The President has worked so hard and we need to reward his hard work by decorating this bridge with his pictures.”
Umahi also appealed to voters in the South-East ahead of the 2027 presidential election, urging them to consider the infrastructure projects executed by the Tinubu administration before deciding how to vote.
He noted that the South-East did not give Tinubu significant support during the 2023 presidential election but argued that the region had continued to benefit from projects under his administration.
“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,” the minister said.
Umahi, a member of the All Progressives Congress, also challenged supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, to identify projects Obi had attracted to the South-East.
“I have a bragging right in Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and I’m proud of him and will be willing to show anyone who wants to know all that he has done,” he said.
“Peter Obi is our brother and we do not hate him, but we need to be realistic this time. I don’t care about people abusing me on social media, they should only tell us what Obi has attracted to the South-East.”
The minister’s comments came as rehabilitation work on the First Niger Bridge approaches completion, with the Federal Ministry of Works targeting next week for the reopening of the bridge.
The bridge was originally scheduled to reopen on September 21, but the reopening was postponed by one week because of persistent rainfall, which slowed down the rehabilitation work.
Umahi said the 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.
He also directed that no security checkpoint should be located within 200 metres of the bridge, warning that checkpoints could contribute to traffic congestion and put additional pressure on the structure.
The rehabilitation project has involved replacing vandalised bolts and expansion joints, repairing sections of the carriageway and walkways, and installing CCTV cameras and streetlights.
Other structural improvement works are also being carried out as part of efforts to improve the safety and durability of the bridge.
Umahi further directed the Anambra and Delta state governments to strengthen monitoring of scrap markets in their respective states, citing concerns over the theft and vandalism of public infrastructure.
He said the Federal Ministry of Works would also restrict dredging activities around the bridge where necessary and continue carrying out structural assessments to ensure the facility remains safe for motorists.
According to the minister, one carriageway could initially be reopened while work continues on the other, once the newly laid concrete attains the required strength.
Umahi apologised to motorists for the inconvenience caused by the closure and commended the Anambra and Delta state governments for their cooperation during the rehabilitation exercise.
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