Hope Abah Emmanuel, Dorathy Aninge & Denen Achussah, Makurdi
When it materialises, a bridge across River Buruku in Benue State will no doubt save lives and open up economic activities on coastal areas and environs. It will link Logo and Buruku local government areas for easy movement. The bridge will also lessen the difficulty motorists experience plying through Benue from the South to Taraba and other North East states of the country.
Curiously, since 2008, the idea of constructing the bridge has been on the floor of the National Assembly. It was even captured in the national budget of 2009 and N300million was allocated for designing, while the cost of the bridge was put at N4billion.
But since then, neither the design nor contract for the construction of that bridge, expected to be awarded the following year, has seen the light of day.
In 2012, while the idea was still in the cooler, the cost of construction had jumped to N12billion when the matter came up on the floor of the House of Representatives again through the member representing Buruku federal constituency, Emmanuel Orker Jev, a lawyer.
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In 2013, 2018 and 2021, there were major boat mishaps at the Buruku crossing point, during which many lives were lost. That development also necessitated a visit by a delegation of the National Assembly to ascertain the level of damage and other things.
Nearly 50 people lost their lives during the three incidents as boats capsized in the river. Many other deaths also occurred in such manner.
Recently, the idea to construct the bridge was revived in the Green Chambers and the money budgeted for the designing was captured in the 2022 national budget, just as the cost of construction rose to N50 billion.
River Buruku is about two-and-half-hour drive from Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
Checks by Daily Trust Saturday indicate that N1.2billion was earmarked for designing the bridge, while Roughton International was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Works to carry out transaction advisory services, which include conceptual designs, condition assessment, traffic studies, legal due diligence, traffic modelling, risk assessment and others, under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
In an interview with Daily Trust Saturday in Makurdi, Kpam Jimin Sokpo, who is currently representing Buruku federal constituency in the House of Representatives, said the bridge project had existed for a long time, adding that his predecessor made efforts for it to become a reality.
“As far back as 2009, the design of the bridge was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Works and it was done. But since then, nothing has happened because it was not captured in the budget.
“I can’t really remember the consultant given the job for the design. However, although there was no appropriation for it, efforts had been made by the traditional head of Buruku; and a committee was set up to see to that. But there was no commitment on the side of the government.
“When I came into office, I made that one of my cardinal points. I made contact with the minister of works. On my first month in office I tried to see that the bridge was captured in the budget; and thankfully, it was captured in the 2022 budget.
“It is now about 12 years, so the ministry had to refresh the design and capture the reality on ground.
“The amount released for the design is N1.2billion, which is captured in the 2022 budget. And for construction, as at the last structure, was N50bn, which is 25km on one side and 5km on the other.
“From the estimate gotten so far, the engineers said it was about N50bn. I don’t know if money was released the first time in 2009, but this is the first time it was captured in the budget and an amount allocated to it.
“The bridge is part of a federal road, so it would open up major roads to other states. It will take up pressure on the other roads of Katsina-Ala. It will also open up the movement of goods from farms in villages, as well as connect several states,” he said.
On efforts being made to sensitise local boat owners who might see the project as sabotage to their long time trade, the federal lawmaker noted that plans were underway to educate them about the positive gains of building the bridge.
Buttressing the importance of the bridge to people of his domain, the traditional ruler of the community, Tor Jemgbagh, Chief Afatyo Ajoko, who was elevated from the Ter Buruku stool, said the project was long overdue, adding that people pass through a lot during the rainy season.
Ajoko said that over the years, he had made efforts through their representatives in the National Assembly to make the bridge a reality.
He also said, “We have developed an industry here, where boys build canoes to help people cross the river. The road links Adamawa and most parts of the North, so I encourage the federal government to come to our aid. We are grateful to our representatives for their efforts.
“People eventually came from the Federal Ministry of Works to survey the place in readiness for the construction of the bridge; and we are grateful for that.”
Daily Trust Saturday recalls that Senator Orker Jev, who started lobbying for the bridge in 2008 when he was at the House of Representatives, was quoted to have said in 2019 that its cost had risen to over N20bn.
Efforts by our correspondents to speak to him about the current development did not yield results as he neither responded to calls or text messages to his telephone.
But his earlier comment in the media showed that he began lobbying for the bridge as soon as he got into the National Assembly in 2007/2008.
He had said, “The cost of the bridge was put at N4bn. Expectedly, I thought that since the design had taken place, contract for the construction would be awarded the following year, but unfortunately, we didn’t see it. I tried to go from office to office, but I was too junior as a legislator to cause ripples or waves. In 2012 I brought another motion to remind the House that the bridge was still lying in the cooler. The motion was taken and the resolution passed, saying that something should be done about it.
“Something was done about it again because it reappeared but as a design. It was then I discovered that the design had not been completed because, according to them, only part of the money was released.
“To the best of my knowledge, that design has been completed. By the time I brought the second motion, the cost of that bridge was put at N12bn. In 2013 when the boat mishap happened at the Buruku crossing point, I brought the motion again and reminded them that if we had a bridge across the river we would save scores of lives. The motion was taken and the same resolution was adopted, that the executive arm of government had no excuse because the cost was going up.”
It would also be recalled that after the 2018 mishap, which claimed the lives of over 17 people, Orker Jev, who was then a member of the House of Representatives, brought the motion again, during which the House set up a high-powered delegation led by the then deputy chief whip, who came to Benue for an on-the-spot assessment.
During their visit, members of the team assured that they would mount pressure on the president so that the bridge would be built, but unfortunately, it was just a week after their visit that the 2019 budget was presented, so the project wasn’t captured that year when Orker Jev handed over the baton to Sokpo.
A visit to the river bank across the two local government areas showed that the people are enthusiastic about the project. Locals, merchants and traders, as well as travellers using canoes and boats as means of transportation over the river said they were eager to see the bridge become a reality.
Francis Kundushima Akaa, a former deputy chairman of Logo Local Government, said the project was actually overdue, noting that indigenes of the affected communities and travellers would benefit a lot when the bridge is finally built.
Similarly, Peter Elvihi Igbalagh, a businessman and community leader at Ugba, also in Logo Local Government, said that the bridge when built, would increase business activities at their market as articulated vehicles would bring farm produce for sale.
“If you want to get to the state capital you have to be ferried across on a boat. But it is not every vehicle that can be ferried. During the season of new yam, people come here to buy and take to Lagos, Port Harcourt and other places. Sometimes they spend days after buying due to the inability to get vehicles that would transport their goods.
“These are some of the challenges we face. I am convinced that if the government would construct a bridge across this river, it would benefit businessmen and farmers,” Igbalagh said.
Yongo Tyônenge, a 28-year-old sailor and member of Tombo Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (TMWUN), Buruku branch also said, “We lose lives here when a boat sinks or when two boats collide in the water. Sometimes we don’t get some people’s bodies to bury. That is one of the reasons it is good for us to have a bridge across this river.
“Secondly, if there is a bridge here there will be more development and our population will increase. Some people are afraid to cross on boats. They don’t want to lose their lives.
“We have oranges here, but trailers cannot come to carry them to various markets because there is no bridge. If a bag of orange is sold at N5,000 elsewhere, we will be forced to sell at N2,000 or less. So, if there is a bridge across the river we will make more money.”
This is a Daily Trust Foundation project supported by MacArthur Foundation.
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