he traditional ruler of Ubaha Oriendu Ancient Kingdom in Umuahia North LGA of Abia State, Eze Phillip Ajomiwe, has expressed fears that a bridge linking Abia with Imo State through the Ubaha Oriendu-Ihite Uboma axis may soon collapse.
Eze Ajomiwe, who expressed concerns while inspecting the extent of damage on the bridge, regretted that the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, failed to act on repeated alarms he had raised about the facility.
The monarch warned that flooding occasioned by constant rains in September damaged a section of the bridge, raising fears of possible collapse if no engineering intervention is carried out.
He called for urgent intervention by the NDDC, Abia State Government and other relevant federal agencies to save the bridge from collapsing.
Ajomiwe described the bridge as a critical economic and social link for agrarian communities, farmers and fishermen who use it as a shorter route between the two states, stressing that its collapse would impose serious hardship on residents and undermine the purpose for which the infrastructure was provided.
The traditional ruler said he had written the NDDC in previous years over the deteriorating condition of the bridge and was assured that the rehabilitation request would be captured in the commission’s budget but regretted that nothing was done.
He appealed to the NDDC to act on the commitment, saying the current condition of the bridge required immediate palliative measures before the erosion causes irreversible damage.
“I am appealing to the NDDC to fulfill its promise because what we are seeing here is devastating. If nothing is done, the bridge may totally collapse and our people living on the other side of the river will be cut off,” he said.
In a related development, the Ngada Bridge, linking Ngada Isuochi community in Umunneochi with neighboring communities, has collapsed, disrupting human and vehicular movement.
Reacting to enquiries by DAILY POST, the member representing the Umunneochi Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Umeh Mathias, confirmed the development, promising to act on the matter.
Abia, Imo link bridge suffers major damage as monarch laments NDDC’s failed promises