The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has directed that pictures of President Bola Tinubu be displayed on the First Niger Bridge linking Anambra and Delta states after the completion of ongoing rehabilitation works.
Umahi gave the directive on Wednesday while inspecting the rehabilitation of the bridge, which was closed to traffic earlier this month after vandals removed critical structural components, including bolts, nuts and parts of the expansion joints.
The minister ordered the removal of all illegal advertisements mounted on the bridge and directed that the space be used to display pictures of Tinubu.
“Once we are done with work on this bridge, I want all the illegal adverts on this bridge removed. Anyone who wants to advertise should apply to the Ministry of Works. For now, the bridge will be decorated with the pictures of President Tinubu,” Umahi said.
He said the display was intended to recognise what he described as Tinubu’s infrastructure investments in the South-East.
“The President has worked so hard and we need to reward his hard work by decorating this bridge with his pictures,” he added.
Umahi, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress, also appealed to voters in the South-East ahead of the 2027 presidential election, urging them to consider projects executed by the Tinubu administration in the region.
“I want to say to Ndigbo that we should not throw away our votes in 2027. In the last election we did not vote for him so well, yet he is bringing projects to our region,” he said.
The minister also challenged supporters of Peter Obi to identify projects the former Anambra State governor had attracted to the South-East.
“Peter Obi is our brother and we do not hate him, but we need to be realistic this time. I don’t care about people abusing me on social media, they should only tell us what Obi has attracted to the South-East,” Umahi said.
The minister said rehabilitation of the First Niger Bridge was nearing completion and that the Federal Government planned to reopen it next week.
The bridge was initially scheduled to reopen on September 21, but the reopening was delayed because persistent rainfall affected the repair works. Umahi said the government would not reopen the bridge until the critical structural work had been completed.
“We will be here next week to open the bridge,” he said.
The rehabilitation has involved replacing vandalised bolts and expansion joints, repairing the carriageway and walkways, and installing CCTV cameras and streetlights. Additional solar lighting is also expected to be installed.
Umahi further directed the governors of Anambra and Delta states to monitor scrap markets in their states, warning that activities in the scrap trade could contribute to the vandalisation of public infrastructure.
He also directed that no security checkpoint should be established within 200 metres of the bridge, saying such checkpoints could worsen traffic congestion and put additional pressure on the structure.
The First Niger Bridge remains an important transport link between the South-East and other parts of Nigeria, connecting Onitsha in Anambra State with Asaba in Delta State.
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