By: Paul Edoh Jnr
Residents of Ikobi in Apa local government area of Benue state are groaning over the collapse of a wooden bridge that links the communities and the government’s inability to fix it and help reduces their sufferings.
Ngbede Baba Itodo one of the residents, who made the call in separate interviews with our correspondent on Saturday, described the bad state of the bridge and narrated how the community is only remembered during the electioneering campaign and gets abandoned after elections are over.
He disclosed that the community has nine political wards and has over the years churned out a good number of votes, but, continues to remain without the government giving them consideration for infrastructure.
According to him, the bridge links Ikobi a boundary community in Apa local Government with Odugbeho, Odejo, and many other villages in Agatu local government and Gwer West ( Agabe, Ishigbanda etc).
Itodo disclosed that during the rainy season, the locally constructed wooden bridge is usually over flooded which makes the community residents resort to using the locally made canoe to cross over to other villages.
This is even as the people of Ikobi are farmers and the only means of transporting their farm produce to other communities and markets in the local government is the wooden bridge which has since collapsed and continues to be a threat to their lives.
MAWA FOUNDATION could not immediately reach out to the government authority for a response as Mr. Ameh Akoche, the local government council chairman did not pick calls made to his telephone.