Namnai Bridge Collapse: Sen. Manu Under Fire

Constituents of Taraba Central senatorial district and travellers have criticised Senator Haruna Manu, the senator representing Taraba Central at the National Assembly, for bringing to the state 21 senators without taking them for on-spot assessment of the collapsed Namnai Bridge along Jalingo-Wukari Federal Highway.

Namnai Bridge, linking travellers from Maiduguri to Calabar, is located along Jalingo-Wukari Highway in Gasol LGA within Taraba Central Senatorial Zone of Taraba State. The bridge collapsed in August 2024, causing hardship for the people of the area and travellers.

Meanwhile, Sen. Manu, who represents the zone at the Senate, brought 21 senators to grace the wedding ceremony of his daughter, Sumaiya Adamu Manu, in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.

Senator Waziri Tambuwal, the former Governor of Sokoto State, gave out the hand of Sumaiya Manu in marriage, which was received by Senator Ahmed Lawal, the former Senate president, who received the bride on behalf of the husband according to Islamic rites.

Having learned about the senators’ visit, many constituents from the Taraba Central Senatorial Zone expressed their grievances over Manu’s failure to take the lawmakers to the bridge for an on-spot assessment to make resolutions at the National Assembly for the Federal Ministry of Works to reconstruct the bridge.

“We understand that our senator, Haruna Manu, has raised a motion during one of the senate sessions when he drew the attention of both the senate and the federal government to our plight and how we are suffering over the collapse of this Namnai bridge.

“We expected that, now that the senators have visited Jalingo, it would have been an opportunity for our senator to lobby and bring them here to see our sufferings themselves, so that if they go back to Abuja, they will prioritise their attention to our plight.

“Sen. Haruna Manu has the weight to bring in 21 Senators to his daughter’s wedding, but he can’t bring the same senators to inspect the bridge that has to do with the masses. We are disappointed over this show of unconcern,” Usman Shehu, a resident of Namnai, stated while speaking with our correspondent.