Senate Urges Ministry To Fix Collapsed Bridge, Okija Spur Road

The Senate has asked the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to undertake an immediate engineering inspection of the collapsed old bridge and all failed sections of the Okija Spur Road, and to initiate emergency measures to restore at least temporary, safe connectivity.

The Red Chamber mandated its Committee on Works to oversee all intervention activities concerning the Okija Spur Road, the collapsed old bridge and the completion work on the new bridge.

These resolutions were sequel to the consideration of a motion on “Need for the rehabilitation of Okija Spur-Ihembosi-Ukpor-Ebenator-Ezinifite Road” sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Nwachukwu (APGA, Anambra South) during plenary yesterday.

In the motion, Nwachukwu said the Okija Spur-Okija, through Afor Ukpor to Ebenator and Ezinifite Road, remains one of the most critical intra-regional corridors in Anambra South Senatorial District, enabling commerce, agriculture, education, access to health care and other socio-economic activities across multiple communities.

He noted that the old bridge collapsed on March 5, 2025, “completely shutting down movement, endangering lives and severely disrupting economic and social connectivity in the affected communities.”

According to him, “the new bridge over the Ulasi Stream, which has been under construction for over a decade, is only about 70 per cent completed, with pillars erected and deck components fabricated, but not installed, leaving the structure non-operational and the corridor effectively impassable.”

Nwachukwu expressed concern that the collapsed old bridge, combined with the incomplete statutes of the new bridge and deteriorated condition of several portions of the Okija Spur Road, particularly between Ukpor and Ebenato, had heightened safety risk, increased transportation costs and compounded hardship for the people.

He, therefore, called for the urgent completion of the new bridge and immediate intervention on the collapsed old bridge, which now represents the most critical step required to restore movement pending full rehabilitation of the remaining bad portions of the road.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, directed the Committee on Works to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Works and FERMA to ensure the project is completed on time to safeguard against the activities of kidnappers and bandits.