TVCNEWS — broadcast
20260920 163000 UTC
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[00:00:12] of
[00:00:17] of a
[00:00:18] of
[00:00:46] Nigeria is one
[00:00:47] of the most prominent states in the country, the state
[00:00:51] deriv its name from
[00:00:52] of the Ogun river, powerful river that
[00:00:56] flows through the state and empties into the Legos Lagoon.
[00:01:04] sits on the banks
[00:01:05] of of the river, for anyone traveling from Lagos
[00:01:09] into Abuta, crossing the Ogun river has always been
[00:01:13] a necessity, abeta is
[00:01:16] agably one
[00:01:19] of of the first Nigerian cities to enjoy a direct and enduring
[00:01:22] relationship with the Colonial
[00:01:24] Administration, that
[00:01:27] relationship was made manifest as early as
[00:01:30] 1909 when Abelkuta was connected to Lagus
[00:01:34] by the
[00:01:36] of
[00:01:38] of
[00:01:40] of of rail. In order to achieve that, the
[00:01:44] very first railway bridge was constructed across the Ogun
[00:01:47] River to transport goods and agricultural produce
[00:01:51] from the arts of egbland to Lagos.
[00:01:55] More than
[00:01:56] of 100 years later, the Ogun river in Abilgoda. now
[00:02:00] spanned by four functional bridges, the
[00:02:04] old Lafenwa
[00:02:05] a bridge constructed and inaugurated in 1959
[00:02:09] and the concrete bridge recently erected by it
[00:02:12] of side to reduce load and to make it
[00:02:15] a dual carriage way. other bridges are
[00:02:18] the akiri bridge that also links lafen
[00:02:22] wa from the right side
[00:02:23] of the briri junction and
[00:02:26] of olomori on the left side and the okwako adigwe bridge. which
[00:02:30] links the
[00:02:31] in obadaoko of area of apeokuta, while the lafewa
[00:02:35] bridge and the orders built after it remain in active
[00:02:38] use, seven thousands of vehicles daily, the first
[00:02:42] bridge that started the journey now stands in a state of
[00:02:45] abandonment.
[00:02:50] this century old historic bridge was constructed for both railway
[00:02:54] and pedestrian yuls. it is located in the
[00:02:58] of ararom
[00:02:58] of area of. and it connects aro itaoshin to
[00:03:02] oriyanin agbeloba, the old Post Office at
[00:03:06] Manseke, and Into Okeiwo, which is the commercial
[00:03:10] of district
[00:03:10] of the town. During my visit to Araaro
[00:03:13] Muriyon, I set out to catch a glimpse
[00:03:16] of the historic bridge that once served as the
[00:03:19] a major link between the colonial authorities and the people of Arbe
[00:03:23] Okuta and the rest
[00:03:25] of the country. What I found was an engineering
[00:03:29] masterpiece. a structure built with quality
[00:03:33] steel and anchored by solid
[00:03:35] of concrete pillars that form its foundation across the
[00:03:38] river. the bridge was also designed with
[00:03:42] pedestrian walkways on both sides allowing
[00:03:46] people to move freely even as trains passed.
[00:03:49] now the
[00:03:51] of story of has changed: years of abandonment and
[00:03:54] vandalization have taken their toe. most
[00:03:59] of of the railings have been removed. and the wooden deckins on the pedestrian sections
[00:04:02] as decayed, yet
[00:04:06] a people still use the bridge daily to connect to the toushin and
[00:04:10] aro axis
[00:04:11] of the town. undeter by the risk,
[00:04:14] both young and old continue to cross.
[00:04:18] to them, this is not just a bridge, it is a
[00:04:22] historic monument that must not be allowed to rot
[00:04:25] away. they also say it makes economic sense
[00:04:29] because in the bridge cost nothing, but if they are forced
[00:04:33] to go around and use the bridge at burry, transport fair
[00:04:36] ranges between 600 and 800 nira depending on
[00:04:40] negotiation, for a student making the trip
[00:04:44] twice daily over
[00:04:45] a distance of less than 700 meters, the cost
[00:04:49] becomes heavy burden, it's very closer to
[00:04:53] of retoshing uh from this uh to
[00:04:57] touching and very closer, you can check it from toshion
[00:05:01] and cost the bridge, across this place without any money be
[00:05:05] sincere without it lot of people will have, i don't
[00:05:08] want to say it really, because lot of people going
[00:05:10] of to
[00:05:11] of school down from ' italshi so
[00:05:14] all schools around here, agnican uh
[00:05:17] afro gateway, they do take
[00:05:21] this on finish um this thing, though it was good and fine
[00:05:25] before, but later on it went off like this, based on
[00:05:29] the fact that parts the bridge have been vandalized by those who cut
[00:05:32] away metal, i was afraid to cross, didn't want
[00:05:36] to mistap and the height was downting, i spoke
[00:05:40] with pedestrians especially the way who use it daily, but
[00:05:44] they were indifferent, to them, it was a way of
[00:05:48] life, no, except if they maybe they
[00:05:52] have removed some uh, some
[00:05:55] plank, so as everything is straight, it will be faster
[00:05:58] than
[00:06:00] what i think, trains used to pass here
[00:06:03] before, but not again as it is now, we cross
[00:06:07] the bridge anyt, even at night we pass through the
[00:06:11] bridge because It's faster to Italy, both young
[00:06:15] and old including students make use the
[00:06:18] bridge. I later moved into the host community to speak with
[00:06:22] residents about the historic bridge which they call bridge
[00:06:25] arrow. An 85 year old indigen of
[00:06:29] Araromir told me he grew up knowing the
[00:06:32] bridge. He said his parents informed him that it was
[00:06:35] constructed by the British. He said the bridge has
[00:06:39] served the people of egweland and beyond for more.
[00:06:51] I grew up knowing this bridge it's very useful for all of
[00:06:55] us here because it's faster to get touch
[00:06:58] in aro area we passed through it to go and sell our
[00:07:02] goods I also passed through it when I was going to school
[00:07:06] at it but since strings are no longer passing
[00:07:10] through it that
[00:07:11] was when the problem.
[00:07:12] started
[00:07:16] his younger brother shared similar experience recalling how
[00:07:20] the bridge shipped their trade and movement in their younger
[00:07:23] years that it is
[00:07:25] two uh places one here
[00:07:29] one here but now we have only one we have now
[00:07:32] is sp and that b now useful for
[00:07:35] everybody because when i was when i was young going to
[00:07:39] school any time we are selling uh sugar
[00:07:42] cane at railway station, it's a
[00:07:45] big somewhere now so any time 1 o'clock
[00:07:49] in the night in the
[00:07:50] midnight come
[00:07:54] has come have to run that bridge you go there
[00:07:57] to sell and
[00:08:00] this and come back together very
[00:08:04] nice because community was here
[00:08:08] atted only one school e
[00:08:19] we enjoy the
[00:08:21] so weself bridge, we enjoy the bridge, but now
[00:08:25] personally i can never
[00:08:28] uh a professor who is resident
[00:08:32] offer a deeper insight into the history behind the bridge and why
[00:08:36] government must not abandoned it and the
[00:08:40] bridge? that
[00:08:43] was a real line
[00:08:45] bridge, became
[00:08:49] dysfunctional,
[00:08:53] which informs the granite
[00:08:56] connecting centers
[00:09:00] around, around
[00:09:02] ibara became
[00:09:05] disuse, so that trail line
[00:09:08] after a long abandon.
[00:09:15] was converted into
[00:09:19] residential lens by those who encouraged on
[00:09:23] it, but one glading
[00:09:26] thing is that road was
[00:09:28] constructed parallel to the
[00:09:32] rail line to the granite collection center
[00:09:36] and today
[00:09:37] is major road called kari road, for the
[00:09:40] alakuso, the head of community, his appeal is
[00:09:44] clear, government should consider the historic, economic
[00:09:48] and developmental values attached to the bridge and come to their
[00:09:51] rescue in the community. the bridge is now
[00:09:55] useful for the uh somebody using
[00:09:59] legs to cross, so if it can be developed
[00:10:02] in the sense that the vehicle can be passing through, so
[00:10:06] definitely is to reduce the cost, the
[00:10:10] the the the hold of traffic. jam
[00:10:13] in the what they call the place
[00:10:17] and burry
[00:10:19] and
[00:10:23] that. very close to the very there, so definitely
[00:10:27] anybody going
[00:10:28] to, this
[00:10:32] will be easier
[00:10:34] ass road for them. recently, the state house of assembly
[00:10:38] has passed resolution to h the state government to consider
[00:10:42] reconstruction the bridge in order to enhance public
[00:10:45] safety, his traffic congestion and to stimulate the local
[00:10:49] economy in the state. the resolution, which
[00:10:53] was sponsored by the law Maker representing Abiuguda
[00:10:57] north state constituency by Batude Taylor was passed by
[00:11:01] the assembly but yet to manifest physical development in the
[00:11:05] area. By reconstructing the
[00:11:08] bridge, we will be writing our names in gold
[00:11:12] just as our forfathers who first built it over
[00:11:16] a century ago. I
[00:11:20] therefore passionately all this honorable house to
[00:11:23] support this motion. and call on the state government through the
[00:11:27] ministry of works and infrastructure to take immediate steps
[00:11:31] towards the reconstruction of this all important bridge for the
[00:11:34] safety, convenience and prosperity of our
[00:11:38] people bridge reconstructed
[00:11:42] and modernized for the use
[00:11:44] the people
[00:11:47] of
[00:11:48] state.
[00:11:52] despite my fears, my desire to walk on the historic
[00:11:56] bridge prompted me to give it another
[00:11:58] trial. this time the chairman the community development
[00:12:02] association the area was my guide. he showed me
[00:12:06] how to navigate the bridge without fear. then i
[00:12:10] decided to give it a try on my own. after watching
[00:12:13] people trying to move on this uh bridge, i also want to
[00:12:17] attempt crossing these bridge, although it's a bit scary
[00:12:21] uh when you look into the water and of course you are on this uh
[00:12:25] ancient bridge, but I'm going to uh cross it uh
[00:12:29] with determination, so take a
[00:12:31] look.
[00:13:18] and finally I'm here, I've conquered the
[00:13:22] fear, uh, looking at this place. is
[00:13:25] just uh less than
[00:13:29] um 500 meters uh, but the
[00:13:33] danger attached to this place currently is what people are
[00:13:36] actually calling government attention to, they want the government to
[00:13:40] actually replaced this bridge by constructing the
[00:13:44] concrete one and remove this century hood uh
[00:13:47] railway bridge which has been abandoned here, however
[00:13:51] people still plied it every day.
[00:13:58] From my experience during the trip, I see the
[00:14:01] 117-year-old bridge, standing as a symbol of
[00:14:05] engineering foresight and the foundation of modern
[00:14:08] transportation in Nigeria. Restoring it will
[00:14:12] honor the vision the past leaders and strengthen the courage
[00:14:16] the future generations to dream big about their
[00:14:19] country with commitment to make an indeilable
[00:14:23] impact the spire. The current major road construction
[00:14:26] ongoing across the state, abandoning this heritage to rot a
[00:14:30] waste like to lose critical part of Nigeria's colonial and
[00:14:34] pre-independence history, her history ed into the
[00:14:38] land of state
[00:14:40] capital. TBC News
[00:14:43] abulkata.
[00:14:56] Brought to you by Remed Lee. Send money home,
[00:15:00] safely with
[00:15:01] Remedly.
[00:15:13] Bayalsa has long been one of Nigeria's major
[00:15:16] producers of natural gas.
[00:15:19] Ironically, millions of cubic feet of gas
[00:15:23] left the state every day. while many homes remained
[00:15:27] in darkness. For
[00:15:30] decades, residents questioned why a states
[00:15:34] blessed with enormous gas resources could... not generate
[00:15:38] enough electricity for its own people, the
[00:15:41] answer is now taking
[00:15:44] shape. they have
[00:15:48] done enough for us because the light, now as you can see we are
[00:15:51] working, it's with the light that are using, for the past
[00:15:55] two weeks now there is light, constant light, like for the for my
[00:15:59] experience to the one of experience constant light, no taking, are
[00:16:03] using it now for our business, at least some of our generator
[00:16:06] beast. and the others have stuff now, we used to spend
[00:16:10] about 15, sometimes 2000 depend on how the work
[00:16:14] is, so but now we can save that money and use it for other
[00:16:17] things.
[00:16:25] the turning point came with the Bayalsa independent power
[00:16:29] project, an ambitious plan designed to
[00:16:33] generate 60 megaws of electricity using
[00:16:36] natural gas. sourced within the state.
[00:16:40] the project involves the installation of eight gas
[00:16:44] turbines at elebele in ogbia local government
[00:16:47] area. each turbine represents major
[00:16:51] investment aimed at delivering reliable power supply
[00:16:55] to homes, businesses and industries. for the
[00:16:58] past let's say one month there has been a
[00:17:02] steady power supply and i believe is
[00:17:06] turbine,
[00:17:06] i don't think. back and give us such light. getting
[00:17:10] the turbines into by elsa was no easy
[00:17:13] task. transporting equipment weighying
[00:17:17] several tons across rivers and difficult to rain
[00:17:21] requires amounts of planning and engineering
[00:17:24] expertise. every component had to arrive
[00:17:27] safely before installation could begin.
[00:17:31] after months of installation and testing, the project reached
[00:17:34] a defining moment. on this day. April
[00:17:38] 10, 2026,
[00:17:42] to God be the
[00:17:44] glory.
[00:17:48] President Bola Akmed Tinibu officially commissioned the power
[00:17:52] project. The event marked a significant milestone
[00:17:56] in Bayelsa's journey towards energy
[00:17:59] independence, yet generating electricity
[00:18:02] was only one part the solution. Delivering that power
[00:18:06] supply into. Holmes presented another challenge
[00:18:09] entirely, this is too much, nowadays the rain
[00:18:13] is too much and every other thing is too much, so
[00:18:17] we are we appeal to the government to know how to sustain this nepa of a
[00:18:21] thing, if you can hold that nep then is okay, if the turb can be
[00:18:25] okay, i think the masses will be okay, the light
[00:18:29] situation, the power situation has even reduced, it's even getting
[00:18:32] worse, we used to be one the best when
[00:18:36] it comes to... supply, but for now I want to say that the
[00:18:40] situation has even deteriorated the trindling, I've invested
[00:18:45] a power, the solar energy, so I use
[00:18:48] that, then over sometimes we
[00:18:51] get
[00:18:53] uh fuel to use, so it's a tol, it takes a
[00:18:56] told in our family budget,
[00:19:00] so but I want to believe that there will be an
[00:19:03] improvement, the way others are enjoying the gas turbine, they...
[00:19:07] improvement in power supply, i want to honestly believe that it will
[00:19:11] extend to br street, at the end the day it will be better of and
[00:19:15] win for all of us, so let's be
[00:19:18] patient and we are sure that we will all be happy,
[00:19:22] and are those who have seen the light and are very happy
[00:19:26] and i've received a lot of
[00:19:30] forarded messages to me
[00:19:33] about when there is light and how they enjoy the light.
[00:19:37] and when that happens, those who don't have will ask, are we not part of b
[00:19:41] elsa? we are all part of b elsa, nobody will be
[00:19:45] left out, as you do this our road, let him see appear and
[00:19:49] do our light, there is no transformer, the transformer that is here is
[00:19:53] not even good, so let him help us and come and do the light, we are
[00:19:56] hungry, since over years i have not been doing anything in this
[00:20:00] community, so many people are parking out, so we are in darkness all
[00:20:04] throughout the years, many community. has lacked
[00:20:08] functional distribution infrastructure, old
[00:20:11] transformers have broken down, some electrical
[00:20:15] lions were too weak to carry additional
[00:20:18] power, in several locations, years of
[00:20:22] neglect meant, damaged poles and worn out cables
[00:20:26] had to be replaced, another major obstacle,
[00:20:29] vandalism, transformers, power cables,
[00:20:33] electrical installations, some newly installed facility,
[00:20:37] became targets for thieves, officials say every
[00:20:41] act of vandalism delays electricity to
[00:20:45] thousands of households, because the love the pool of
[00:20:49] b the governor generously
[00:20:52] provided financial and technical support to ensure that those
[00:20:56] 14 towers i 19 towers were
[00:20:59] rehabilitated then within the uh
[00:21:02] distribution network you may be aware
[00:21:06] that we lost over 114
[00:21:10] transformers during the blackout and that
[00:21:13] immediately prompted the may so rest in peace the
[00:21:17] late deputy governor senator.
[00:21:21] to set up a an
[00:21:24] anti-Vandalization committee
[00:21:28] which was which is currently part of our electricity
[00:21:31] act itself, it has been domesticated within the
[00:21:35] electricity act and we were able
[00:21:39] to cup the further vandalization the distribution
[00:21:43] network, otherwise if we had not done
[00:21:47] that as a proactive measure by
[00:21:49] the time the transmission uh network
[00:21:53] was completely rehabilitated, we would have
[00:21:57] faced a huge challenge in ensuring that the
[00:22:00] distribution network is also rehabilitated.
[00:22:04] poor internal wearing has also emerged as another
[00:22:08] challenge: many homes cannot immediately
[00:22:11] receive power supply because their electrical
[00:22:15] installations no longer meet safety standards.
[00:22:19] some res lents are now upgrading their wiring before being
[00:22:23] connected. today the transformation has
[00:22:26] begun. one community after another,
[00:22:30] more customers are gradually being connected to the state
[00:22:34] power network. some businesses are beginning to feel their
[00:22:38] impact: hair saloons, cold rooms,
[00:22:42] welders, bakeries, cyber cafes. the
[00:22:46] reduction in fuel costs is gradually translated.
[00:22:50] into improved productivity, hospitals expect more
[00:22:54] reliable health care delivery, students can study at
[00:22:58] night. entrepreneurs can expand their
[00:23:01] businesses. investors now see electricity as
[00:23:05] critical factor in choosing where to establish
[00:23:08] industries. government officials say more
[00:23:12] communities will continue to be connected in
[00:23:15] phases as distribution infrastructure
[00:23:18] expands. we heard about challenges in
[00:23:22] terms of delay here and there,
[00:23:26] because it is not like the analog
[00:23:29] turbine, this is electronics
[00:23:33] turbine, e-turbine that is so sensitive,
[00:23:36] now we are connecting from community to
[00:23:39] community, but if there is any falt, because
[00:23:43] the the electrification we've had that has been
[00:23:46] done before, and uh, is
[00:23:50] any fault in connection, any
[00:23:52] falt with the transformer
[00:23:56] will have delays, because we need to fix
[00:23:59] that before they can have
[00:24:02] supply, so that has been
[00:24:06] challenging, if not will have said will have covered
[00:24:09] more than more communities
[00:24:12] that than what we have covered today, but it's still working
[00:24:15] progress, i believe that most
[00:24:18] communities among this yanagua
[00:24:21] axis already connected and
[00:24:25] more are to be connected. residents are
[00:24:29] also being encouraged to protect transformers and
[00:24:32] report acts of vandalism because every damage
[00:24:36] transformer means more communities remain in
[00:24:40] darkness, from darkness to dependable
[00:24:43] electricity from generators to gas powered
[00:24:47] energy for the residents of Bayalsa, "the
[00:24:50] journey is far from over, but perhaps for
[00:24:54] the first time in many years, the future looks
[00:24:57] brighter. for decades, by elsa watch its natural
[00:25:01] gas, power industries beyond its
[00:25:04] bters, living communities with unstable power
[00:25:07] supply, but today the state is changing the
[00:25:11] narrative, although challenges still persist from
[00:25:15] aging infrastructure, poor internal wiring as well as
[00:25:18] vandalism. but the residents say hope is on the
[00:25:22] horizon joseph kunde tvc
[00:25:26] news yanagua
[00:25:27] brought
[00:25:36] to you by remedly
[00:25:38] send money home safely with
[00:25:40] remedly.
[00:30:18] At TVs and wherever the big news stories
[00:30:21] happening, we're get up to break it.
[00:30:25] TVs
[00:30:25] and
[00:30:52] An efficient and vibrant agriculture sector remains a major
[00:30:55] pivot the tinib economy, hence the deployment of
[00:30:59] interventions.