TheCable

Some road fittings installed on the Second Niger Bridge have been stolen by vandals.

On December 15, 2022, the federal government opened the bridge to ease traffic in the south-east during the festive season.

The bridge was later closed to traffic on January 15, 2023.

On May 23, Muhammadu Buhari, former president, inaugurated the bridge and fully opened it to traffic. A couple of weeks on, however, the ‘Nigerian factor’ has caught up with the gleaming infrastructure.

Speaking with journalists in Onitsha on Wednesday, Martins Oluwaseyi, representative engineer from the federal ministry of works, said the expansion joints on the Onitsha end of the bridge have been carted away.

Oluseyi condemned the act, saying the federal government will beef up security around the bridge to prevent further vandalism.

“It is true that the bridge was vandalised. Those fittings will surely be replaced. It is an important national asset that should be protected by all,” he said.

“We have contacted all the security agencies and we will beef security around the bridge and on the bridge.

“People have cried for this bridge for decades, now they have the Second Niger Bridge, just a month after it was inaugurated, they vandalised it, I think something is wrong somewhere.

“This bridge will be beneficial to everybody. The vandalism on the bridge is unacceptable.

“It is not in the interest of the larger community, as the profit from the vandalisation is just for a moment.

“The effect of the destruction will be for a very long time, because at the end of the day they will also suffer the consequences, so it is better not to vandalise public property, it belongs to you and I.”