Dave Umahi, minister of works, has ordered the removal of all illegal advertisements on the First Niger Bridge.
The minister also directed that pictures of President Bola Tinubu be used to beautify the bridge in appreciation of his “good works”.
Umahi gave the directive on Wednesday while inspecting ongoing rehabilitation works on the infrastructure, which links Delta to the south-east and south-south states.
“All the illegal advertisements on the bridge should be removed. If anybody wants to advertise for anything, he has to apply to the ministry of works,” he said.
“In the meantime, the south-south and south-east SSA to Mr President would have to fertilise the bridge, beautify it, colour it with the president’s pictures because the president deserves to be appreciated for the quick intervention and the quality of work that he is doing in this place.”
The minister also directed that additional solar lights and CCTV cameras be erected on the monument, while the bridge should be linked to the Second Niger Bridge immediately.
“I have also set up a committee to go and do empirical evaluation of what is happening below the water level and above the water level under this bridge and they will report to me before the end of work tomorrow,” he added.
On September 7, the federal government announced a two-week closure of the bridge for emergency maintenance after vandals removed critical structural components.
The reopening was later extended by another week due to persistent rainfall.
