Engineering Minister David Umahi said he was unaware of the closure of the Independence Bridge in Lagos State.
The former governor of Ebony knew this when he spoke to reporters while visiting the location in Lagos on Thursday, April 3.
Umahi said Mrs. Olukoreede Keisha, a federal engineering company in Lagos State, would unilaterally decide without his approval, which was “very unfortunate”. He said such a major decision, especially in cities like Lagos, should be discussed at the ministerial level before implementation.
“I was not told. The controller did it on its own, which was very unfortunate. Because it was about to close a bridge, especially in Lagos, you know, because it was tradition, I should be told to the minister. We should also look into what it means, even if it was an emergency.
Will we do other things? So, why do we take the time to do the proper work?
So I took this opportunity to warn all controllers and engineers across the country. You should never close the route or close any bridge without passing the permanent secretary, who will seek permission from a respected foreman. Therefore, there will be consequences and disciplinary action will be imposed on this. ”
The minister apologized to Lagos residents and President Bola Tinubu for the damage caused by the closure.
“Let me apologize to the Lagosians and the President, because this closure caused the entire Lagosians and of course the country. Even if I didn’t order it, I was responsible for it. But I am responsible for every action by any staff member or minister.
Therefore, I will not avoid failure caused by sudden closure. If we want to do this correctly, we will deploy another statement. And we don’t have to shut down completely.
Even if we are closing, we will do this in three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and then we will do the necessary remedies. So what we are doing now is to temporarily restore the bridge within the next three days. By Sunday, the place will be fully open. Then two weeks later, we will look at settlements. Then, it will take three days to build the permanent structure. That’s what we’re going to do. ”
