Kogi – The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in collaboration with residents of Apata town in Lokoja Local Government on Wednesday carried out repair work on Gadabiu bridge, an accident prone spot on Obajana – Lokoja road in Kogi State.
It was gathered that the repair work was the initiative of the traditional ruler of Apata, Olu of Apata, Oba (Dr) Fredrick Balogun.
The repair work became necessary as a result of incessant motor accident on the spot, leading to loss of human lives and properties worth millions of naira.
The traditional ruler, Balogun explained that the bridge is always in bad shape because of the usual daily heavy traffic on the road.
Balogun said he initiated the repair work to avoid further loss of lives and property.
“We lost so many of our community members on this road particularly this very spot or bridge due to it’s dilapidated nature.
“As a leader and royal father, the welfare of my people is paramount, especially any area where they are suffering, I should be able to mitigate it.
“It’s so pathetic and quite unfortunate that my Community and the country as a whole has lost precious innocent lives of road users, both motorists and commutters to this very bad spot.
“Therefore, if the road goes bad and it’s not quickly fixed, it becomes a death trap to both motorists and commutters more so, that this is the only good road that links the North with the South.
“This is exactly what ginger me to collaborate with FRSC and even Dangote Group, to ensure that the bridge is fixed to avert carnages on the busy Obajana- Lokoja road,” he explained.
Balogun said the decision to repair the bridge on the Federal road was not a bad idea , saying that “government alone can’t do everything for us, which explains why I and my subjects always rise to the occasion once we noticed that the bridge has gone bad .”
The Olu of Apata, however, called on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Kogi State Road Maintenance Agency to step up efforts at helping in the repair and maintenance of the bridge and the entire highway.
While stating that life is precious and valuable, the traditional ruler commended Governor Yahaya Bello for his pragmatic action at ensuring the security and safety of Kogi residents through his good policies and programmes.
He thanked the Unit Commander, Zariagi FRSC Unit Command, ACC Moses Odogiyan and his officers and men for partnering his community to fix Gadabiu bridge.
He appealed to motorists to always exercise patience while on the highway, especially when they get to the the paired bridge to prevent accident.
Also speaking, Odogiyan, expressed gladness thatthey were able to fix the bridge, a development which he said will go long way to reduce carnage on the road.
“I am so glad this bridge is fixed today, Wednesday, March 9 considering the five fatal accidents recorded in just a short time of my arrival in this unit command in late December.
“We are very grateful to the Olu of Apata for this patriotic gesture of saving lives and property that move on this bridge on daily basis, ” he stated.
Odogiyan also advised motorists to always obey traffic rules and regulations and to always be patient, knowing that life has no duplicate. (vitalnews)
