FG proposes N341b for repairs of Lagos bridges

The Federal Government has proposed N34 billion for urgent repairs of the Third Mainland and Carter bridges in 2025 following colossal damage on the infrastructure.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, disclosed this on Saturday while briefing members of the National Assembly on the status of the repairs of the bridges in Lagos.

According to him, the repairs were to avert imminent dangers in the two critical bridges in Lagos.

He noted that the N341 billion has been proposed to attend to the bridges in 2025, which might not be enough considering the level of damage on the bridges.

“If you want to call for a conference on our bridges, we are willing to answer you. We have proposed that N341 billion will be needed in 2025 to attend to our bridges.

“We don’t know how much this is going to cost. If we are to rebuild Carter and the Third Mainland Bridges, even N30 trillion will not be enough. So one stitch in time saves nine. This is very important.

“Berger is doing very beautiful work until they encounter this situation. So we are putting heads with them. We are also contacting internationally to see what the solution will be.

“But it’s important that the National Assembly address their minds that we have problems. You know that there are no problems that cannot be surmounted. But there are no problems that should be overlooked,” Umahi stated.

The minister, who applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his continuous support in maintaining the project, called for urgent intervention on these bridges, referring to it as a case of emergency.

He also called on the information arm of the ministry to produce a full documentary of the state of the facilities to present to the president and the National Assembly for urgent action.

Speaking, the National Assembly members led by Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Peter Nwebonyi and Chairman, House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, called for a declaration of a state of emergency on all the bridges in Nigeria to avert danger.

The lawmakers identified the lack of a post-rehabilitation plan as the major issue that has kept the bridges in bad condition.

According to them, the bridges have suffered 56 years of neglect due to inability to map out a maintenance plan for projects.

They applauded the minister’s action towards the bridge, stressing that it will save Nigeria from infrastructural collapse.

The lawmakers also lamented late notification on the issue but. called for a budget for a survey on all the bridges to ensure their states of maintenance and damage before preparing a budget for repairs.

“Human life is more important than the money that is going to be spent to build this road. If you look at the bridge, you will not even know whether the bridge is faulty. So we are going to recommend that the Ministry take up the item outside whatever budgetary provision they have for repair of this bridge.

“This is going to go a long way. It’s not about building infrastructure but maintaining already built infrastructure. It is another way of saving money and also maintaining healthy economic activities,” they stated.