A year after heavy floods caused the collapse of the Namnai Bridge in the Gassol Local Government Council of Taraba State, the absence of both federal and Taraba State government intervention?and growing impatience with political inaction?has culminated in a grievous tragedy.

Floods in late 2024 washed away the Namnai Bridge, an essential transit route linking Taraba to Benue and southern Nigeria. Local leaders and civil society groups voiced alarm as the critical westerly artery ground to a halt. Nigeria travel packages

The Federal Government, via the North East Development Commission (NEDC), pledged reconstruction in early 2025.

Minister Uba Maigari and the state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, announced that full rehabilitation would begin within weeks.

However, over the months, no contractor has appeared at the site, and no meaningful work has started despite repeated assurances.

Locals say substitute routes?often bush paths?have become impassable, causing widespread hardship. Farmers lost market access, traders closed shops, drivers abandoned the corridor, and market prices surged as perishable goods rotted in fields.

On Friday, July 25, 2025, a boat ferrying vehicles and passengers across the river at the abandoned bridge site capsized around 7:00 p.m. Chairman Jidda Mayoreniyo of Taraba Inland Water Transporters confirmed that three people died and several others were still missing. At least four vehicles that were aboard were recovered from the river floor, while luggage and belongings remain submerged.

This tragic event underscores the extremely unsafe conditions commuters now face?a direct consequence of infrastructure neglect.

Drivers and passengers who spoke with The Guardian blamed both the state and the federal government for the calamity that has befallen the state. Abuja Formula 1 Grand Prix tickets

Citing the Nukkai Bridge in Jalingo, the state capital, that collapsed in 2005?where the then state governor, Rev. Jolly T. Nyame, wasted no time in collaborating with the federal government to fix the bridge?the inability of the incumbent governor to tread the same path has become a source of concern to the people of the state.

His alleged failure to join forces with the National Assembly members from the state to herald the presence of the federal government at the collapsed bridge, they believed, necessitated the recent deaths following a boat mishap.

Disturbed by the development, the Gimbiyar Lau, Hajiya Mamma Fati Ibrahim Hassan Lau, who lost three of her family members in the tragic boat mishap that occurred at the collapsed bridge, urged the federal authorities to declare the reconstruction of the Namnai Bridge a national emergency.

She also called on both the federal and the state governments to, as a matter of urgency, begin reconstruction work on the long-abandoned bridge.

Describing the incident as a ?preventable tragedy,? she blamed years of governmental neglect for the reliance on unsafe water transportation in the area, particularly perilous during the rainy season when river levels rise dangerously.

She appealed to Governor Agbu Kefas to intensify pressure on the federal government to prioritise the bridge?s reconstruction, noting that the Namnai Bridge is a critical piece of infrastructure, not just for local communities but for the nation at large.

?The Jalingo?Wukari corridor where the bridge is located is a major economic artery linking northern and southern Nigeria. It is essential for the movement of agricultural produce, livestock, and goods, supporting commerce and fostering regional integration,? she said. (The Guardian)

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