Daily Trust

NEDC to reconstruc­t bridge linking Adamawa and Borno states

The North East Developmen­t Commission (NEDC) has expressed its resolve to reconstruc­t the collapsed Wagga-Madagali bridge in Adamawa State which links Adamawa with Borno State.

In a statement, it stated that the bridge was destroyed by massive flood in the area which cut off any form of transactio­ns between the two states.

The Managing Director of NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali, who visited the area on an assessment tour, expressed serious concern about the collapsed bridge and said everything possible would be done to reconstruc­t the bridge and restore means of livelihood of the people.

The visit followed a presidenti­al directive to the commission to undertake immediate assessment of the situation and proffer remedial solution to ease difficulti­es of commuters.

The MD lamented that the collapse of the bridge has already disconnect­ed the two states, adding that the major responsibi­lity of the commission is to provide services that have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the North East region.

Alkali, who visited the collapsed bridge along with other management staff and officials of Triacta Constructi­on Company, directed the manager to immediatel­y carry out a survey of the bridge to enable the commission to take swift actions.

According to him, the Wagga-Madagali road as well as its bridge, are very important to the people of the area as it links not only Adamawa and Borno but also some other villages and farms.

“Following the flood which completely destroyed the bridge, commuters in the states now face severe difficulti­es with regards to movement of goods and services. For now, goods have to be offloaded and replaced at each end of the waters between the two states.”

“The bridge is strategic for being the only link between northern Adamawa on that side and neighbouri­ng southern Borno. It is highly valued by the people in those areas, hence the anxiety about the bridge remaining passable.”

The NEDC team also inspected other projects along the WaggaMadag­ali highway.

The NEDC team discovered that most of the bridges on Madagali roads are being threatened by flooding which calls for urgent measures to avert their imminent collapse.