ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Federal Government on Friday announced the closure of the River Niger bridge for one week.

The closure is to carry out repairs on the vandalised sections of the River Niger bridge road and install security architecture in the area.

Minister for Works, Engr Dave Umahi, disclosed this at Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra during an inspection tour of the bridge and other roads under construction in the South East and South South geopolitical zones of the country.

The bridge is over 50 years old after its construction.

He said motorists would, at the closure of the bridge, be directed to the Second Niger Bridge in order to give the contractors an adequate time frame to carry out the necessary repairs.

Recall that suspected vandals had looted vital bolts and irons used in the construction of the bridge, thereby exposing the bridge to obvious collapse and, in the process, threatening the lives of millions of road users and passersby.

He explained that security measures are being taken to avert a repeat occurrence of vandalism on the bridge.

“Bridges are designed for light load and dynamic loads so we have directed that work should start immediately and the entire ashfalt be removed and put another one and there will be solar lights on that bridge in the next one week and we shall fix CCTV and connect it to the one in the 2nd Niger Bridge so that security will observe and whoever that tries to touch the bridge again is going to be arrested.

“Now on the first Niger bridge, we have seen the wickedness of the underworld. We have seen the man’s inhumanity to man , those things that they are removing is very dangerous to the beauty of that bridge and we have commenced action on that bridge,” he said.

He added; “There is so much accumulated workload on that bridge, like it was with the 3rd Mainland Bridge, and every government that comes will put asphalt, and it is causing a lot of gridlock on that bridge.

“So these are the actions that we have taken and then getting down we came to the Enugu – Onitsha express and the are working in three sections and there the Enugu -Onitsha and another one is 17.5 km and the last one is about 20km by two and so I have directed them not to start any asphalt work or concrete work so what they are to do is to take measurements of all the failed sections and it should be milled out and then use 16mm binder to cover them very well all the way from head bridge to 21.5 km and they will finish one carrage way before they go to the other one.

“We have to attempt to work at night so that we don’t interfare with traffic and we have to get the road safety involved and our own local traffic managers they should commence the desealting of the drainage before commencing”

“To that effect we may have to close down the first Niger bridge in seven days time and we direct traffic to the second Niger bridge for us to fix the first Niger bridge in good time ” he stated.

At the ongoing construction of the second Niger Bridge access road, Engr Timothy Emenike, Controller, and Engr Nnamdi explained that there would be no more slow pace of work on the project, adding that the project is being executed from both fronts in order to beat the deadline.

“The project starts from Obosi down to Mkpor and Ogidi and now we are in Ogbunike and along this alignment between the last time you came we are working on several stops along this alignment and you have just seen the second bridge that is on going and we are almost about to start the third one”.

“Work pace will not be a hindrance until we exhaust what was given to us by the Anambra state government and I am happy to inform you that since the new Commissioner took over we have been going to the new Commissioner’s office and have been pressuring him to give us more work space “

According to him, “in the next week we shall have another work space of 5km between Obosi axis, working from both ends “

“We are cutting through the hill at Ogbunike to continue the work in that area,” they stated.

Anambra State Commissioner for Works, Arc Okey Ezeobi, announced that the right of way being demanded by the contractors would be granted to them, adding that an additional 5km has been added to the contractors.

Ezeobi thanked President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Engr Dave Umahi for providing democracy dividends for the people of Anambra and the South East.

He reiterated the support of the people of the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“There is no better way to describe this as a renewed hope and not fit saying it and the Hon Minister with what you are doing with our wonderful President for the first time Easterners can come in and move out with ease and the bottle neck they had been a great harassment and that is sending people out of the South East has been taken care of “

“One can now bye pass Onitsha bye pass Asaba and you are on your way”.

“You don’t know how glad the people of Anambra and the South East is and thank Mr President for us “

“There is no way to asked for democracy dividend they this and that is when you have a visionary leadership tailored towards aliviating the sufferings of the masses “

“Mr President is developing every parts of Nigeria and regarding the right of way for this project , we are finalizing it and we are adding another 5km to what we have now and there will be more than enough for the contractor to work with ” he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC, Dr. Aminu Wushishi, has died.

Wushishi reportedly died on Friday, August 28, 2026, after a brief illness.

The news of his demise reached Minna, the Niger State capital, around the time of the Juma’at prayer, throwing associates and political circles into mourning.

Wushishi, a former Secretary of the Niger State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was said to have taken ill briefly before his death.

Confirming the development, his Special Adviser on Media, Stanley Nwosu, confirmed that the NPC chairman had died.

“Yes, it is true. The NPC chairman died after a brief illness,” Nwosu said.

As of the time of filing this report, details surrounding his death and funeral arrangements were still being awaited.

Vanguard

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Peter Obi’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election, has explained why he believes it would be “very unlikely” for the Muslim North to support a Peter Obi–Rabiu Kwankwaso ticket.

Speaking during an interview, Datti said his experience campaigning for Obi showed him the challenges of winning support in the North.

“I said it is very unlikely that the North will support Peter Obi. Very unlikely, because I know what I have faced. If you want me to repeat, when I jumped onto the ticket, I had to contend immediately with ID card,” he said.

He also questioned how Kwankwaso, who previously travelled from Kano to Anambra to challenge Obi, would handle the contradictions that could arise from such a political arrangement.

Datti recalled the effort he made to introduce Obi to communities across Northern Nigeria, particularly in Borno.

“I knew how and what I used to get Peter Obi across. Like I said, all the way to Shehu of Borno. Do you know Shehu of Borno? At least historically, do you know the history of Borno? Islam was in Borno 400 years before it even came to the Sokoto.”

He recounted an encounter involving the Shehu of Borno and Lord Lugard, saying the historical relationship helped shape British policy toward the region.

“From Borno, that is when they got that idea. I smuggled Peter Obi to Borno, to the Caliphate, to Kano, to Zaria, to market him. So I sorted that problem of ID card, mosque demolition.”

Datti further questioned whether Kwankwaso would be willing to make the same sacrifices he made during the 2023 campaign.

“Because I took myself as a staff of Peter Obi. I considered myself as staff. Call me 2 a.m., I will jump up. Call me 4 a.m., I will jump up. Call me 6 a.m., I will jump up.”

He concluded by asking whether age, ego or seniority could prevent such commitment, saying: “So will age allow, will ego, will seniority, will all those things allow him?”