Senator Dave Umahi, Minister of Works, has apologised to Lagos residents and President Bola Tinubu for the disruption caused by the sudden closure of the Independence Bridge.

Umahi apologised when he visited the bridge site in Lagos on Thursday.

He said that the closure of the bridge was for urgent rehabilitation of the collapsed return wall, carried out without his knowledge or authorisation by the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos.

He said: ”But unfortunately, when the bridge was to be closed, I was not informed. The controller did that on her own, and it’s very unfortunate, because for a bridge to be closed, especially in Lagos, as you know, has been the tradition. I should be informed as the minister.

“We should also have studied the implications, even though it’s an emergency situation. We would have deployed an emergency evaluation of the implications of closing the bridge.

” Was there any other thing we would have done? And then why do we take time to do the proper work?”.

Umahi warned that controllers and engineers would face disciplinary action should this type of incident happen again.

“I use the opportunity to warn all controllers and engineers all over the country, never you close a road or close any bridge without running through the permanent secretary, who will seek for the permission from the Honorable Minister of works,” he said.

The minister acknowledged the Lagos State Government’s efforts in managing traffic flow during the closure, which he said eased the gridlock.

He also took responsibility for the error, stating, “I take responsibility for it, even though I did not order it, but every action by any staff or ministry of works, I take responsibility for that.”

Umahi acknowledged that the closure, which caused significant traffic congestion, was avoidable.

He said, “If we’re to do this properly, a different kind of method would have been deployed and wouldn’t have necessitated the total closure.”

He further explained that even if closure were necessary, it would have been done in such a way that it would take three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and necessary remedial work would have been put in place before the remedial work.

Umahi outlined a plan for immediate restoration, saying, “So what we are doing now is to restore the bridge temporarily within the next three days. By Sunday, this place will be totally open.”

He added that a permanent solution would be implemented after a two-week assessment period.

“And then, after two weeks, we will look at the settlements, and then we will take out three days to put the permanent structure. That is what we are going to do,” he said.

The Minister emphasised the competence of the contractor, Build Well, highlighting their experience in bridge restoration.

“Build Well is a reputable company. They have been restoring many failures on our bridges in Lagos, some of them 53 years old, and they are very reputable in handling these bridges.

“Some bridges spans have been lifted up, especially Eko Bridge, Marina Bridge, and even the Lagos-Ibadan Bridge, they are also intervening in all of them,” he added.

The minister also said that the design of the bridge would be varied to address the emergency.

He said, “And so we have discussed, we are going to vary the design. The design will be varied according to the emergency situation we’ve had on the ground. And the contractor is going to cooperate with us.”

He pledged to personally oversee the restoration efforts, saying, “I’m not going until the bridge is fully restored by Sunday. We will work day and night to restore it, and then we will evaluate it.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bridge was initially closed on April 1 for essential maintenance and rehabilitation works, with the government planning to complete the repairs by May.

A former Premier League defender has been jailed for fraud after scamming his friend out of more than 120,000.  Lucien Aubey, 40, was handed a two-year jail term, with 12 months suspended by a court in the French city of Toulouse.  He previously made three Premier League appearances for Portsmouth in the 2007-08 season, when the club won the FA Cup under Harry Redknapp.  As well as winning five caps for Congo, he also played for Toulouse, Rennes and Reims in addition to clubs in Turkey and Cyprus. Aubey and his co-accused Mohamed Dia, a clothes designer, allegedly told the man, named only as Sebastien, 42, that he would earn 1million in three years’ time.  But he has now been found guilty of fraud after getting a friend to invest in the creation of a record label. The individual had also previously landed a 170,000 payout following a road accident. Aubey had previously been declared bankrupt and disqualified from setting up a company, while shoe repairer Sebastien went to the police but never saw his investment again. He accused Aubey of threatening to harm his children after seeking repayment. Sebastien, 42, said: ‘I lost everything, and my wife wanted to commit suicide. I had to give up work. ‘We split up, and those two [Aubey and Dia] just had a good laugh about it all.’ Aubey told the court: ‘My money was tied up in Cyprus, held by my club Olympiakos Nicosia. This wasn’t a fraud – I never robbed anyone.’ But prosecutors were able to reveal phone conversations between the ex-footballer and Dia, which demonstrated an intent to defraud Sebastien. On Monday, the court ordered Aubey to repay 145,000, and to not contact his victim while Dia received a one-year suspended jail term for his actions.The post Ex-Premier League defender, Lucien Aubey jailed for fraud after scamming his friend out of more than 120,000. appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has expressed strong confidence in his release by April 2025 while criticising Igbo political leaders for their lack of support.

This revelation came from Engr Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, the President-General of the Igbo Community Association (ICA) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who visited Kanu at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters in Abuja.

Ezenekwe stated that Kanu appeared physically healthy and mentally strong despite his prolonged detention.

He reiterated Kanu’s faith in his legal team, affirming that the IPOB leader remains optimistic about securing freedom in the coming weeks.

However, Kanu did not hesitate to condemn the silence of Igbo political elites, stressing that their failure to advocate for his release and the broader Igbo cause had deepened marginalisation.

“His sentiments evoked memories of past hardships endured by fellow freedom fighters, such as the neglect experienced by Ralph Uwazurike,” Ezenekwe noted, referencing another pro-Biafra activist who was imprisoned in the past.

Kanu’s call for a referendum

Kanu also used the meeting to renew his call for a referendum, stating that he had committed no crime other than urging the Igbo people to assert their rights.

“His unwavering confidence in his legal team and his hope for release by April 2025 resonated as a powerful testament to his dedication and fortitude,” Ezenekwe stated.

In his statement, Ezenekwe directly appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to demonstrate political will by facilitating Kanu’s release.

“I call on him to draw upon the spirit of democracy and commitment to justice that defined his own struggles,” he said, referring to Tinubu’s past as a pro-democracy activist.

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He further emphasised that Kanu’s continued detention symbolised political repression rather than justice.

As Kanu awaits the outcome of his legal battle, his supporters are rallying for renewed advocacy, with growing calls for the Nigerian government to either release him or expedite judicial proceedings.

The coming weeks will determine whether Kanu’s optimism is well-founded or if his prolonged detention will continue to stir political tension in Nigeria’s Southeast.