The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Saturday in Abakaliki after a meeting with the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, during his ongoing three-day project inspection and citizen engagement tour of the South-East.

 

“We want to thank Mr. President and we want to thank the Honourable Minister of Works. We jointly discussed this and approached Mr. President, who graciously approved it. It means a lot to the people. It’s ₦16.7 billion to reconstruct the bridge, a 10-span bridge,” Idris stated.

 

 

 

Idris commended Umahi for his swift intervention in the aftermath of the disaster, noting that the Works Minister had immediately dispatched engineers to assess the damage before forwarding recommendations to President Tinubu.

 

He added that the approval would be “music to the ears of the government and people of Niger State.”

 

In his remarks, Umahi praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “compassionate and listening leader” who was determined to address infrastructure challenges across the country.

 

According to him, the bridge reconstruction approval was part of a broader package of infrastructure interventions recently sanctioned by the President.

 

Among the projects listed were:

 

Reconstruction of the washed-away 5-span bridge in Wukari, Taraba State.

 

Rehabilitation of the Lokoja Bridge.

 

Permanent repairs of the washed-away Afikpo section linking Ebonyi to Abia and Imo States.

 

The Keffi Flyover Bridge.

 

Jebba Bridge in Kwara State.

 

Seven bridges in Edo State.

 

A bridge project in Kebbi State.

 

 

Umahi stressed that these projects cut across all six geopolitical zones, underscoring the administration’s commitment to equitable infrastructure development.