Communities in Michika and Madagali Local Government Areas of Adamawa State have been cut off from the rest of the state after a heavy downpour on Tuesday.
File photo
A heavy downpour on Tuesday washed away Dilichim bridge, cutting away communities in Michika and Madagali Local Government Areas from the rest of Adamawa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bridge, constructed over River Yedzaram, had in the past suffered bombing by Boko Haram insurgents.
It had remained in a precarious state for two years since the bombing before it was finally washed away after several hours of rain.
Damian Gurai, the councillor representing Bazza Ward in Michika local government, described the incident as devastating.
“We are now cut off by this development and many people are now stranded; nobody can come to Michika and Madagali, just as nobody can go to Yola and other parts of Adamawa.
“Today is Bazza market day and many traders who came from Mubi and other parts of the state are now stranded at the river bank,” Mr. Gurai said.
Aliyu Kwaji, the vice chairman of Michika local council, called for urgent action to restore the bridge back.
“To my knowledge, the contract for this federal road has been given to a company named A.G Vision by the Federal Government. The company has started scraping the road some weeks ago, but what we want now is for it to concentrate on the bridge,” Mr. Kwaji said.
Also speaking, the chairman of Madagali Local Government, Yusuf Mohammed, described the collapse of the bridge as “a serious problem.”
He lamented that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas affected by boko haram in Adamawa was going at a slow pace.
“It is sad that two years after the insurgency, this major bridge and others were not reconstructed and today here we are. Nobody can come in and nobody can go out from Michika and Madagali local government areas,” Mr. Mohammed said.
-NAN