Enugu State governor, Peter Mbah, has canvassed a new road maintenance model to guarantee better and longer condition of roads in Nigeria, saying that the current model has failed woefully.
Mbah spoke at the site of a bridge that collapsed in Enugu between the New Artisan flyover and the NNPC Mega Station along Enugu – Port Harcourt Expressway.
The governor thanked God that no life was lost despite the magnitude of the incident, urging the federal government to consider concessioning all the federal roads in each state to the state governments for proper maintenance in conjunction with the private sector.
“I think the question should be whether the current model of federal road maintenance is working or not; and I think that is the bigger question that we must ask.
“Today, we are witnessing a tragedy that has just occurred. We are fortunate enough that no life was lost, but this could have been prevented entirely. So, the people can no longer ply this route because of this tragedy. This shows clearly that we do not have a sound federal road maintenance model,” he said.
Mbah noted that the bridge collapse didn’t just happen, adding that the threats could have been identified if there had been a routine or regular maintenance.
He reasoned that the way to go was to concession these roads to the states, contending that the states needed to take charge of the roads within their domains just as there has to be a conversation around funding models.
The bridge, which collapsed on Monday, left commuters stranded. The state has, however, advised commuters to use Nza Street through New Haven or ply Ogui Road and Abakaliki Road to their various destinations.
The advice, contained in a statement signed by the state commissioner for works and infrastructure, Gerald Otiji, said the alternative routes should be used while the authorities came up with measures for immediate repair of the failed section of the bridge.
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