The Governor of Ebonyi State, Hon Francis Nwifuru, has flagged off construction of a five -span bridge to link communities and towns of Enyim in Izzi Local Government Area of the state with their neighboring community in Oju, Benue State.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony held at the construction site, Governor Nwifuru said the idea for the project was first conceived in 1994, when a white man took him to the river bank for sightseeing.
He said , “From here to Makurdi is less than two hours, and from here to Abuja is less than five hours. I got to know about this bridge when my brother was admitted to Sudan Missionary Hospital. Another time was in 1994, when I had an accident and was treated by a white man working in the hospital.”
According to him, “After my treatment, the white man brought me to this place and showed me the Enyim River. It was then I began asking myself: when will we have a bridge across this river? When will development reach this place?
“I didn’t know those were questions I would live to answer myself,” he said.
Nwifuru diaclosed that in a recent conversation with the Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, he assured him that work on the connecting road would begin as soon as the bridge is completed, in order to boost economic trade between the two states.
“I want to thank the Governor of Benue, who has assured me that once the bridge is completed, he will commence work on the road leading to his local government. Many lives have been lost while attempting to cross the Enyim River,” he said.
A traditional ruler from the area, HRH Cyprian Nwekee,who represents Izzi in the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos branch, said that the construction of the five-span bridge would mark the end of the era of boat mishaps, which have claimed many lives in the area.
“The flag-off of the Enyim River Bridge, a five-span structure to link Ebonyi with Benue, is one of the greatest achievements of Governor Nwifuru’s administration. I would have been dead by now, but it was by the grace of God that I survived a boat mishap in that river.
“But with this project, such tragedies will be a thing of the past. Agricultural produce from the ‘Salt of the Nation’ and the ‘Food Basket of the Nation’ will now be transported more easily.
“In this way, we are doing our part to address food insecurity in the nation,” he explained.