Protests as bridge linking Anambra, Imo, Abia, Rivers collapses
Residents of Umuawulu community in the Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Wednesday, protested alleged government neglect of the area.
Scores of the residents gathered around the Hana Bridge and lamented that it had caved in because successive governments had abandoned it.
Stating that the bridge linked their community with no fewer than 10 others in Anambra, they maintained that it was the shortest route to get to Imo, Rivers and Abia states.
The protesters gave Governor Willie Obiano one month to address their grievances.
The spokesperson for the protesters, Osita Obi, expressed surprise that a community located within the Awka capital territory could be so neglected.
Obi said the community had written several letters to the state Ministry of Works on the condition of the bridge to no avail.
He said, “To further show you how this government hates us, it omitted our name on a signage indicating communities around this place.
“But we have resolved that if we don’t see any change from the government, we’ll mobilise the entire community to close this bridge to traffic until the government does something about it.
“This road leads to the NYSC orientation camp, Amaokpala, Agulu, Nanka, Ekwulobia, Oko, Ajali and Ufuma as well as Imo, Abia, and Rivers states.
“The most important thing is the issue of the NYSC, whose orientation camp is just a few metres away from here. Are they bringing the corps members to come and die here?
“We’re demanding that urgent action be taken to save the lives of the corps members and the entire community.
“The governor visited here when it collapsed two years ago. I’m reminding him in case he has forgot. Let him do something urgent about the bridge.”
In his reaction, the state Commissioner for works, Marcel Ifediora, said the government was aware of the state of the bridge and had concluded arrangements to fix it.
In a related development, two collapsed bridges have cut off 16 villages in the Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State and thrown the residents into hardship.
The affected 16 villages include Nkwot Ikot AkpaIsiak, Ikot Ette, Ikot Umoessien, Nkwot Nko, Ikot Enie, Ikot Okpo, Ikot Nseyen, Nung Imo, Ikot Idomo and Ikot Obio Ata.
Others are Ikot Udo, Obio Ediene, Etip Ediene, Iton Ikot Ito, Iton Mmong and Nnung Ukim.
It was gathered that the Nkwot Ikot Nseyen-Nung Ukim and Iton Ikot Ito-Iton Mmong bridges collapsed during the administration of former governor Godswill Akpabio. Punch
