WILL a new Niger Bridge from Asaba to Onitsha ever be built? It is unlikely since governments do not remember their own words, or just make speeches considered appropriate for occasions. The bridge has been the subject of embarrassments for governments, which never forget to play sickening politics with it.

In 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo stated he was committed to a new Niger Bridge. When he left office six years after, not a dime was voted for the bridge even for preliminary works like the technical drawings.

Minister of Works, Senator Sanusi Mohammed Daggash, two years ago, said he was exploring new financing options for the bridge. He had ruled out the annual budgetary regime and concession for the project which was then to cost N30 billion.

Daggash said the best option was to borrow the money through the Debt Management Office, DMO, in order to complete the bridge in three years.

Concession financing, according to Daggash would leave the project uncompleted for years. “We intend to explore the alternative funding mechanism by way of bonds through the Debt Management Office, or the Pension Commission to raise the approximate amount of money to ensure the project is done within three years. It is very difficult for the budget today to have a project that can consistently command N10 billion a year for three years running,” he told Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. Months after, Daggash left office.

The latest innovative idea  from government is that it would concession the bridge. What about the DMO option that is already being used for expansion of the Abuja Airport Road? Will concession work be  better now than two years ago when Daggash dismissed it because of the global economic recession? Which road has the Federal Government built through concession?

Government should reflect on the importance of a new Niger Bridge, which would enhance direct links between the South-East and South-South with the rest of the nation, in its decision. The urgency of its construction is underlined by the poorly maintained old bridge, which was built for temporary use after the Civil War.

Concession financing is not an efficient option to raise the funds urgent construction of the bridge requires. Experts have warned for years that the old bridge was endangered, governments have ignored the alarms. Is someone waiting for the collapse of the old bridge?

The long talks about the bridge ignore the possibilities of its collapse and the consequences of a bridgeless River Niger at the point of its most important commercial and social use.

Government should return to the DMO option, which still represents the most viable option to deliver the bridge.