No fatal crash occurred during Tuesday’s inspection of the 2nd Niger Bridge by a Federal Government team led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari
By Emma Ogbuehi
Contrary to stories making the rounds in the social media, the Federal Government on Wednesday said that its team that went on an inspection tour of the 2nd Niger Bridge was not involved in a road accident.
The team led by Prof Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday inspected the progress of work on the 2nd Niger Bridge that is primed to link major cities in the Southeast and Southsouth with the rest of the country.
But stories surfaced online afterwards that the team was involved in an auto crash on their way to Asaba, Delta State.
But debunking the story on Wednesday, Hakeem Bello, Special Adviser, Communications to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said nothing could be farther from the truth.
Explaining what happened in a statement he sent to TheNiche, Bello said:
“No fatal crash occurred during Tuesday’s inspection of the 2nd Niger Bridge by a Federal Government team led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.
“Contrary to the sensational report making the rounds on the social media, the team which also comprised the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, his Labour and Productivity counterpart, Dr. Chris Ngige, and the Managing Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr Uche Orji, on arrival at the Asaba Airport in Delta State visited the Interchange along Owerri-Onitsha Road and the East approach to the Bridge in Onitsha from where they walked across to the West approach.
“After a media briefing by members of the team, the Chief of Staff was conducted to the West approach at Asaba and the toll plaza of the Bridge before returning to Abuja.
“It was discovered much later that one of the vehicles in the team of the Commissioner of Police from Anambra State had a mishap during which two policemen sustained injuries. It was confirmed from the Nigeria Police, Anambra State Command that they were treated at the Federal Medical Centre Asaba and had since been discharged.
“The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN, following anxious calls from well-meaning members of the public about the safety of the members of the Federal Government delegation, expresses deep sympathies over the injured two men of the Anambra Police Command.
“However, no lives were lost at all as claimed in the false report by the online platform of a national daily.”
