Abiola Peters
The Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi on Thursday issued a stern warning to all federal controllers and engineers nationwide not to close any major road or bridge without authorisation from his office.
Mr Umahi, who gave the order during an emergency inspection of the Independence Bridge on Lagos Island, stated that he was not pre-informed about the closure and apologised to Lagos residents for the discomfort caused within twenty-four hours of the closure on Wednesday.
He stated that such a major decision, especially in a city like Lagos, should have been discussed at the ministerial level before execution.
He said, “I was not informed because for a bridge to be closed, especially in Lagos, as, you know, as it has been the tradition, I should be informed as the minister. And we should also have studied the implications of it, even though it’s an emergency situation. We would have deployed an emergency evaluation of the implications of closing the bridge.
The Minister of Works lauded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the state government for the prompt action which resolved the traffic chaos that occasioned the closure of the bridge.
Mr Umahi explained that the rehabilitation of the Independence Bridge had started with temporary works that will last till Sunday, then after two weeks another three days will be committed to put up the permanent structure.
The Minister of Works assured that the project would be done day and night to minimize the discomfort on Lagos residents who regularly ply that route.