By John Odhe, YENAGOA
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has expressed confidence in the competence of the contractor, Jillian Group of Companies, handling its 600-meter-long Otuogori-Otuegwe Bridge in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to deliver on the project.
The commission adopted this position after conducting an on-the-spot assessment of the construction site on following a trending online video that claimed the bridge had collapsed midway through construction, which generated significant controversy.
The director of the NDDC, Bayelsa State Office, Mr. Godknows Alemieseigha told journalists that although preliminary investigations were ongoing, what was observed on the ground was an operational mishap rather than a structural failure.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Jillian group of companies, Christian Omiezor, dispelled claims that the bridge had collapsed, insisting that the project was still in its beam-launching stage when the accident occurred and that no casualties were recorded.
He assured the public that the company, with its track record of contracts with the NDDC, could not have failed in the project’s structural integrity, emphasizing its continued commitment to meeting the construction timeline.
An engineering staff member in charge of the piling section who witnessed the incident firsthand, Mr. Abdul Eric, explained that a crane belt snapped on site, causing the crane to strike the beams and trigger a chain reaction along the line of the fall.
On his part, the originator of the trending video, who works at a nearby barge, Mike Agbagwu, pleaded with the company, the NDDC, and the people of Bayelsa to forgive his false alarm, which had generated significant controversy surrounding the project.
He pointed out that he took the action out of ignorance, noting that he had no professional knowledge of what really happened in the incident but was moved by the freak of sending videos to the social media.
With both the NDDC and the construction firm clearing the air, alongside the public apology from the video’s originator, residents and stakeholders can look forward to the successful completion of the vital infrastructure project, which promises to boost connectivity across Ogbia Local Government Area.
