Canoe operators along the Namnai bridge in Taraba State are now making brisk business ferrying vehicles and passengers across the river to enable them to continue their journeys.
The Namnai Bridge, which collapsed in August 2024, has become a major concern for residents, transport operators, traders, businessmen, and women whose livelihoods depend on the route.
For the past two years, motorists have had no alternative but to cross the bridge to continue their journeys and have been required to pay fees ranging from N3,000 to N5,000 for small cars and N20,000 per heavy-duty truck before crossing.
For motorists who use the route regularly, the crossing fee has become an unavoidable financial burden, coming on top of the already rising cost of fuel, vehicle maintenance and other operational expenses.
A truck driver who identified himself as Abdul Sarti said operators of heavy-duty vehicles were finding it increasingly difficult to absorb the cost.
“The situation is particularly challenging to those of us operating heavy-duty vehicles. We are charged up to N20,000 per crossing. We are finding it difficult to absorb, especially now that fuel, vehicle maintenance and other transportation costs remain high.”
Sarti said the collapse of the bridge had severely affected the movement of goods into and out of Taraba State.
“Since this bridge collapsed in August 2024, we have been finding it difficult to transport goods in and out of this state. All the promises made by both the state and federal governments to fix it have failed to materialise.
“We are still calling on them to do the needful because the contractors they claimed they awarded the contract to are nowhere to be seen at the site,” he said.
A motorist, Chike Orum, said the fees were putting additional pressure on ordinary road users.
“The amount we are paying to get our cars across this river is telling on us negatively. We are once again appealing to the authorities concerned to keep to their promises by fixing this bridge,” he said.
Orum also questioned why several collapsed bridges in neighboring Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, and Borno states had reportedly received quicker attention, while the Namnai Bridge remained neglected.
The prolonged collapse has also raised concerns about its wider economic consequences.
The route serves as an important link for moving farm produce and other goods to markets, thereby affecting both income and access to essential commodities.
Community members are therefore urging the relevant authorities to accelerate the rehabilitation of the bridge to enable them feel a sense of belonging.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
Latest posts by Hassan Umar Shallpella (Regional Correspondent) (see all)
- Motorists Pay N20,000 To Cross Bridge In Taraba - August 17, 2026
- Five Communities Came Under Attacks In Benue - August 17, 2026
- NGO Raises N40 million To Empower Women In Plateau - August 17, 2026
previous
Five Communities Came Under Attacks In Benue
next