Abdulkadir Badsha Mukhtar
18 November 2008
Miscreants have been warned to desist from vandalising parts and structures of the Niger Bridge, as the bridge has lately been speculated to be on the verge of collapse before end of the year. The Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), AVM. Mohammed Audu-Bida (rtd), gave the warning when experts from the Federal Ministry of Transport during went on inspection of the bridge situated in Onitsha, Anambra State. The experts told the DG that the activities of vandals have contributed to the deplorable condition of the bridge.
"They constantly remove some bolts and parts from the bridge for sale," the experts stated. Speaking recently at the foot of the bridge after being briefed by officials of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Setraco Nigeria Limited on what should be done to save the bridge from collapse, Audu-Bida said there has been a paradigm shift in disaster management by NEMA such that the emphasis is on disaster risk reduction.
NEMA, according to Bida, has decided to be proactive by being ahead of the disaster, which according to him, calls for possible prediction of natural disaster before it occurs.
"We are waiting for a full report on it. It is what we get from the report that will guide us in briefing the government. For now, we have seen what vandals have done and the situation on ground. we will report to federal government accordingly, he said.
He added, "NEMA is in charge of coordinating disasters in this country and the report we got was that the bridge is in a dangerous situation. It is a high traffic area and we don't want casualties to occur if the bridge collapses."
In the interim, according to him, NEMA, Anambra and Delta state governments, will ensure that there would be no hold up on the bridge during the Christmas to avoid undue pressure on it.
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