The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo on Monday visited the site of the collapsed Mokwa-Jebba bridge in Niger State.
He was accompanied to the site by the State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello and Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.
Addressing journalists at the site of the collapsed bridge, Osinbajo assured that the flow of vehicular traffic on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road would be normalized within “two weeks.”
Osinbajo said government was fully committed to ending the difficulties on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road by addressing the remote causes of the deterioration on the road.
He assured that construction work on building a new bridge would commence but that it would take some time for it to be completed due to the slow movement of material from Ilorin to the site.
According to the Acting President, “The Minister of Works is working on a lasting solution but in the interim, we have assurances from the contractors and engineers working here that this road will be made passable in about a fortnight.
“The contractors have informed me that movement of material to this location would be difficult and slow because of the deplorable nature of the road but with the commitment and support of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies, the job would be done in good time.’’
The Acting President noted that the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport were both working on a more lasting solution that will reduce the over-dependence on the highway especially by diverting the movement of heavy duty cargo from the roads to the railways.
While speaking to youths who had gathered at the site of the collapsed bridge, Prof. Osinbajo conveyed the greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari to the community and urged for patience while government’s efforts were in top gear to fix both the collapsed bridge and the road.
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