Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has promised that the Federal Government will fix the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba Road within two weeks, to ease the flow of traffic.
The Acting President said the government had commenced work to make the road passable, pending the commencement of work on re-construction of the collapsed Bakino Bridge at Tatabu community near Mokwa in Niger State.
He specifically received briefs from relevant officials on site including the site engineers and supervisors from the Federal Ministry of Works, and then embarked on a tour of the collapsed bridge.
Professor Osinbajo told reporters at the site that government was fully committed to ending the difficulties on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road by addressing the remote causes of the deterioration on the road.
“The Minister of Works is working on a lasting solution but in the interim, we have assurances from the contractors and engineers working here that this road will be made passable in about a fortnight,” he said.
The Acting President noted further that construction work on building a new bridge would commence but that it would take some time for it to be completed due to the slow movement of material from Ilorin to the site.
“The contractors have informed me that movement of material to this location would be difficult and slow because of the deplorable nature of the road but with the commitment and support of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies, the job would be done in good time,” he stated.
Professor Osinbajo added that the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport were both working on a more lasting solution that would reduce the over-dependence on the highway, especially by diverting the movement of heavy duty cargo from the roads to the railways.
Speaking to youths who had gathered at the site of the collapsed bridge, he conveyed the greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari to the community and urged for patience while government’s efforts are in top gear to fix both the collapsed bridge and the road.
The Acting President was accompanied on the visit by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, the Estu Nupe, Dr. Yahaya Abubakar and other senior government officials.
In another development, the increased amount of rainfall and flooding across the country has led to the death of about 10 residents of Suleja, also in Niger State.
The Chairman of Suleja Local Government Area, Abdullahi Maje, confirmed the incident which occurred on Sunday to Channels Television.
Residents of the Lekki Axis of Lagos State also suffered a similar fate as they were trapped in their homes, following a flood that hit the area on the third day of a heavy downpour.