Bayelsa Collapsed Bridge: OKI Bows To Pressure, Evacuates Ill-Fated Truck As Comm Calls For Reconstruction

After much criticisms and berating for insensitivity, OKINig.Ltd, construction firm with the Nigerian content Development and Monitoring board,NCDMB has finally evacuated its truck from the Rivers of the collapsed bridge Elebele community of Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa state.

Speaking with our sources in Yenagoa Wednesday,chairman Community Development committee of Elebele, Chief Lloyd Iti said this feat had not come without community effort in making the River free for navigable activities of farmers and fishermen based in the area.

Iti maintained thar after initial attempts by the contracting firm at removing the ill-fated vehicle which led to the collapsed of the bridge failed the community feared that the firm may not evacuate the truck which he said has caused lots of hazards in the community anymore.

The CDC helmsman berated OKI for the delay,stressing that apart from the hardship the community has faced since the collapse of the bridge linking them to their neighbouring communities and Yenagoa,the continuous lingering of the

vehicle in the River whom he described as their only source of water posed even more danger to the community.

“I want to tell you that OKI has finally yielded to pressure by evacuating their truck from our River.You know that since this bridge collapsed rather than evacuating the vehicle which caused the collapse OKI has instead been interested in getting back their coarse from the River. They’ve never been interested in the welfare of Elebele community. They never cared about our pains,” he said.

“About a fourth night ago they came to remove their truck from our River,but for the help the community gave them by cutting down the parts of the bridge they collapsed I think even till now they wouldn’t have been able to pull out their truck from the River,”he continued.

He said after the removal of the vehicle what is now left is to see how a new bridge is constructed across the River in order to put back the fast developing community on track again,emphasising that the SPDC,Nigerian content Development and monitoring board,NCDMB,the Bayelsa state and Federal Governments come to their aide as OKI has declined taking reconstruction responsibilities..

Elebele,an oil producing community and host to the SPDC in the wake of the 2019  flood was hit by a major set back which worsened  their situation as a steel bridge constructed by the  SPDC some years ago was collapsed by an overloaded truck hauling coarse to an OKI construction site in Emeyal 1 community where the NCDMB is building its oil and gas industrial park.

All attempts to speak with the management of OKI on the matter yielded no fruits before press time,however our sources reports that OKI is still working unhindered to deliver their project at the NCDMB construction site in the state without recourse to the plight of Elebele community.