Taraba Bridge Reconstruction Funds: A ₦16.5 Billion Mystery in the Works
By: Abudu Olalekan
A bridge collapses. ₦16.5 billion is approved to rebuild it. Then, the money—and the project—just disappears. Here’s the paper trail.
It was supposed to be an emergency. A matter of life and death, literally. The Namnai Bridge in Taraba State collapses in August 2024. It severs a critical lifeline. So, the Federal Executive Council does what it should. They approve a whopping ₦16.5 billion for an emergency reconstruction. Fast forward to today? The bridge is still a shattered mess. The money? Well, that’s the real story.
According to exclusive documents obtained by Reportersroom, that entire colossal sum—every single naira meant for that bridge—was allegedly diverted. Switched. Poof. Gone. The funds were apparently rerouted to construct a 43.5 km access road instead. And here’s the kicker: sources say this switch never got the required FEC approval. It’s a ghost project, funded by a phantom reallocation.
Let’s rewind. The bridge goes down. Chaos ensues. Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, visits the site. Promises fly. Heavy machinery rolls in. Locals are told work will start in a week. A floating bridge, a temporary fix—something. Nothing happens. Then, in July 2025, tragedy compounds the farce. A boat capsizes trying to cross the gap. Victims include a six-months-pregnant woman named Aisha, whose body was never found. A toddler, Baby Abis, also missing. Bara’atu’s body was recovered. The human cost of a missing bridge became horrifically clear.
Enter Minister of Works Dave Umahi. He pushes through the emergency proposal. FEC approves the ₦16.5 billion on September 10, 2025. The Bureau of Public Procurement gives its no-objection. Everything is green-lit. The contract is awarded. It’s all systems go.
Then, silence.
Before the contractors can even set up site, a second award letter appears. Dated October 28, 2025. Addressed to the same contractor. It’s still for ₦16.5 billion. But the project has magically transformed. It’s no longer for the “emergency reconstruction of the bridge.” Now, it’s for the “emergency reconstruction of the access road to the bridge.” The bridge itself is abandoned. The money follows this new, dubious path.
“No approval in Nigeria is higher than FEC,” a furious source told us. “Who authorised this sudden shift? If FEC approved it, when? Show us the memo.” The questions hang in the air, heavy and unanswered.
The story gets murkier. Sources claim Minister Uba Maigari Ahmadu went to the Works Minister, arguing that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) was already handling the bridge. Therefore, the original funds could be shifted to the road. A neat bureaucratic trick. But legally, it’s a nightmare. You can’t just redirect FEC-approved funds without going back to FEC. It’s not how it works. Or maybe, for some, it is.
And the site? A haunting symbol of the mess. All that heavy-duty machinery that arrived with such fanfare? Vanished. As of yesterday, sources say the site is deserted. Just a single bulldozer and a pile of gravel sitting there, a pathetic placeholder for a ₦16.5 billion promise.
The Minister’s office, of course, denies everything. They call it “fabricated allegations” spread by a social media critic, Abdulmumin Imam. They say the Minister has been working closely with Umahi to prioritize the project. Rather than address the specific, documented paper trail, they’ve opted for the legal route. They’ve sued. They’re threatening to arrest the critic. In fact, reports indicate they already secured—and then mysteriously withdrew—a court order for Imam’s arrest. It’s a pattern of intimidation, not clarification.
So here we are. A vital bridge lies in ruins. Communities are stranded, lives have been lost. ₦16.5 billion of public money is in limbo, attached to a project that nobody officially approved. The paper trail shows one thing, the officials say another. And in the middle of it all, the people of Taraba are just… waiting. Waiting on a bridge that isn’t being built, funded by money that can’t be found, because of decisions no one will own up to. It’s more than a scandal. It’s a betrayal. And someone needs to start answering for it.
