Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has announced the reopening of the rehabilitated Independence Bridge in Lagos following major palliative works, urging Lagosians to resume use of the bridge from Friday.
Speaking to journalists after the reopening of the bridge, the Works Minister said, “We must be very, very grateful and thankful to God Almighty for his message. We worked out through the night and we’ve restored this. If you ask me how did it happen, I would say it’s by God’s wisdom and grace. You know, how it happened is all God’s. But the integrity of the bridge, the integrity of the road we have repaired is 100%. So what we are doing later is for long-term effect. But there is no problem about this repair.”
He then said that a more permanent structure will be put in place after three weeks, explaining, “We are going to be, you know, doing a more permanent work after three weeks, you know, because we don’t know the integrity of the pipes carrying the apartment. So that we relieve the apartment of any load at all. But the load will rather be a pin load which we are going to introduce, so it will continue to press it down.
“So we’ll forever be grateful to God. And we thank Mr. President who, you know, is very, very sensitive to the plight of the people. You know, whenever it pains Nigerians, the President is there to relieve, you know, such pain.”
This came after Umahi made an emergency visit to the site on Thursday, Umahi expressed deep regret over the traffic gridlock caused by the unannounced closure of the bridge, promising swift action to rectify the situation. The Minister said the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to delivering infrastructure with minimal disruption to the lives of Nigerians.
“The President saw the hardship occasioned on Nigerians by reason of the sudden closure of this Independence Bridge for emergency rehabilitation,” Umahi stated.
Lagos residents were left stranded for hours on Wednesday through to the early hours of Thursday following the sudden closure of the Independence Bridge in the Falomo area for maintenance and rehabilitation works.
Motorists and commuters experienced severe gridlock across key parts of the city, with many forced to abandon journeys or remain stuck in traffic into the night.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, had on Monday announced the closure of the bridge, which connects major routes in Victoria Island and Ikoyi, stating that the repair works would last until the end of May 2025.
In her earlier statement, Kesha explained that the closure would directly affect vehicular movement from Ahmadu Bello Way and Adeola Odeku towards Marina, Eko Bridge, and Onikan near the Zone 2 Police Command Headquarters.
Despite the prior notice, Wednesday’s closure triggered a traffic meltdown, causing widespread frustration among commuters who described the situation as chaotic and poorly managed.
To ease the hardship caused by the gridlock, Umahi, on Wednesday, ordered the immediate reopening of the bridge, and on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s instructions, arrived Lagos on Thursday to inspect the bridge in person.
Speaking to journalists during the inspection of the bridge on Thursday, Umahi apologised to Lagosians for the inconvenience caused by the closure of the Independence Bridge, asserting that he was not informed beforehand, and that it was “very unfortunate” that the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State unilaterally took the decision, and that disciplinary action will be taken.
He then used the occasion to issue a stern warning to all Federal Controllers of Works across the country, emphasising that no road or bridge must be closed without written approval from his office via the Permanent Secretary.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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