Kano: N2.5bn Ado Bayero"s bridge on the brink of collapse

Kano bridge commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday, 22nd of March is on the brink of collapse, a resident told NAIJA CENTER NEWS.

Cracked Kano Bridge

The bridge which was built through senator Basheer Garba Lodo, a senator representing Kano Central, was named after a late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero,

President Jonathan, while naming the bridge on Sunday said “We are naming the bridge after Ado Bayero because as a leader who served his people with dignity and never toyed with his throne, he earned huge respect that we will always remember him by and immortalized him for.

“Kano is known for this trade and commerce beyond Nigeria, beyond West Africa,” Mr. Jonathan said. “That is why it has become a state that needs to work with the Federal Government so that Federal Government will work with it to add value and improve the quality of life  of the people.

“We love Kano people. We will work with you so that we get the groundnut pyramids back and add value to the people. That is why we are very happy that Kano People believes in the ruling party the Peoples Democratic Party). There are some wrong movements in the state and when we have the elections we will use it to correct these wrong movements.”

A resident of Kano, Chairperson, Elderly and the Poor, Hajia Habiba Abubkar who spoke with NAIJA CENTER NEWS on phone said the bridge collapsed on Tuesday.

Habiba said the collapsed bridge triggered celebration among residents of Kano who believe the dishonesty of the Federal Government had been blown open.

Many of the residents, including members of the All Progressives Congress in the state believe that, the President commissioned the bridge to garner more votes in the coming election

Quoting the Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Habiba said the governor was not happy when the bridge was named after the late emir, and was a thing of joy for him after the bridge collapsed few days after a grand commissioning by the President.

“The state governor said he knew the bridge was not going to last as such bridge with a hunchback cannot be named after an Emir.” Habiba added.

Meanwhile, another resident, Ibrahim Bellow Zauma took to his Facebook wall to lash at those who are blowing the situation out of proportion, adding that the bridge has a major crack and not yet collapsed as widely speculated.

Zaumwa said “Politics aside! The bridge has a major crack at the joint but has not yet collapsed. It was poorly constructed in a haste to get votes for PDPigs. But please, tell the truth and stop exaggerating issues. The caption should be “GEJ’S BRIDGE IN KANO ON THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE”

Responding to the situation, the Managing Director, Rocad Construction company, Roger Farajallah said “the bridge is intact and we are installing a speed breaker at the moment”

For security reason, police were deployed to the bridge to control traffic

Kano: N2.5bn Ado Bayero"s bridge on the brink of collapse