Four months after the bridge linking Elebele community of Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State with sister communities of the area collapsed, the people of the area have indicted O.K.I Nig.Ltd, a contracting firm with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB.
The community leadership who spoke to our correspondent through their youth president and Governorship standard bearer of the Peoples Redemption Party,PRP in the last Bayelsa State Governorship polls,Mr Azibola Okala in Yenagoa, last Friday alleged that several attempts at bringing OKI to evacuate the overloaded truck which was hauling materials to their construction site in Emeyal 1 community,Ogbia LGA which led to the collapse of the bridge, was abortive that vehicle is still stuck in the River,which according to him is their only source of water.
The Youth leader maintained that with the collapse of the bridge which used to join the densely populated community with Yenagoa, the state capital,commercial activities which were usually on the increase in the area are now at the lowest ebb.
Okala who alleged OKI of having deliberately collapsed the bridge in order to isolate the community from commerce which according to him is their major source of livelihood,saying from the day the bridge collapsed to date, the company has not made any significant attempt at coming to their aide not even during the last flood that sacked part of the community,retreiting that but for the collapse,the hitherto healthy bridge would have given them access to Yenagoa and other areas where they would have sought for refuge.
“OKI is not really serious with evacuating this truck.They told us they’ll be coming since.During the flood they came without doing much to evacuate it and left.Now they’ve told us they would be coming next week and just like that.This truck and chippings in it are hazards to this community, they are not even talking of how we could get on with things even if it means constructing a wooden bridge in the interim to enable people move to the other parts of the community let alone constructing a new bridge.” He said.
Our correspondent who visited the site of the collapsed bridge last Friday evening that the no fewer than 16 trucks tyres were is still left unattended to.
Meanwhile a representative of OKI Nig.ltd at their Emeyel II site. When our correspondent learnt was interfacing with Elebele Community on the ill-fated bridge.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
