As the rainy season peaks in July 2025, the outcry over the collapsed Namnai Bridge in Gassol Local Government Area has intensified.Commuters, residents, and passersby are calling on the authorities to act swiftly before more lives are lost.
The bridge, which collapsed in August 2024, has remained in a state of disrepair despite repeated assurances from both state and federal governments to reconstruct it before the rains. Instead, the area has become a death trap.
With persistent warnings from NIMET and other agencies about heavy rainfall and flooding, the state of the Namnai Bridge now poses an even greater threat to travelers and nearby communities.
On July 25th 2025, torrential rains led to a flood that claimed the lives of commuters, a tragedy residents say could have been avoided with timely intervention.
Communities lament that despite the tragic loss of lives at the bridge site, there has been no official statement or immediate response from either the state or federal government.
This silence they say has deepened the frustration and sense of abandonment felt by residents, many of whom believe that the avoidable deaths are a direct consequence of government inaction.
For them, the lack of urgency even in the face of fatalities raises serious questions about the value placed on the lives and safety of ordinary citizens.
Recall that Governor Agbu Kefas and others have visited the site multiple times to assess the situation and announced that a contract for the bridge’s reconstruction has been awarded.
In April 2025, the Minister for State and Regional Development, Uba Maigari also visited the site and gave assurances that work will commence in the coming days,an assurance that never saw the light of day.
Frustration continues to mount as residents demand urgent action to prevent further loss of lives and ease the hardship of navigating a broken route that connects key parts of the state.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, through a statement by his special adviser of media and digital communications, has commiserated with the families of the victims of the Namnai boat mishap that claimed the lives of three travellers.
The governor expressed deep sadness over the incident, attributing it to the long-neglected collapsed Namnai Bridge along the Jalingo–Wukari Federal Highway.
According to the governor, both natural factors and human miscalculations contributed to the mishap, including the absence of life jackets, which might have prevented the fatalities
