Anambra Community Blames Food Scarcity on 15-year Old Abandoned Collapse Bridge

By Praise Chinecherem

People of Nawfia community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have attributed food shortage in the area to collapsed bridge, abandoned for over 15years in the town.

They said the bridge, known as “Ezu Nawfia Bridge” remained the only entrance point to their farmland and neighbouring Abagana community.

Speaking Friday during an inspection tour by officials from the Ministry of Environment to the collapse bridge, President General of the town, Chief Daniel Okoye regretted that the incident had turned many farmers in the area to beggars.

He said, “The ugly development has forced some of the residents to relocate out of the community as well as the inconveniences and associated risk of walking through the scrap of the bridge to their farms.

“The bridge constructed immediately after the Civil War collapsed 15-years ago and ever since then the bridge had remain abandoned and all our efforts to draw federal/state government attention have proved abortive despite NEW-MAP visit to the site recently.

“My people are seriously hungry and suffering because of lack of access road to their farmland.

“Well-to-do individuals in the community have been spending millions of naira working around the bridge gradually turning into gully erosion to prevent the menace from destroying housing and other valuable properties in the community.

“We are urging the state governor, Chukwuma Soludo to extend his solution agenda to Nawfia community to enable us bounce back to our farming status we are ancestrally known for.”

Responding on behalf of the State Government, leader of the inspection team, Lady Okpala Chidnma assured the people of government’s quick intervention.

She also assured them their message would get to the table of the governor through the Commissioner of Environment, Dr. Felix Odumegwu.

“The government of Prof Soludo will do everything possible to address the challenge. But you have to exercise patience,” she added.