After prolonged expectations, the federal government have decided to open the second Niger bridge for vehicular and passengers movement.
The Minister of works, Raji Fashola who was present at the former opening ceremony, said the government decision to open the bridge at this Christmas season was aimed at easing the hardships usually experienced by travellers. 
He disclosed that the bridge will be opened from today, 15th December, 2022 to January 2023.
Fashola ordered the contractors working on the bridge to remove all barriers on bridge to allow for free flow of vehicular movement. 
The minister assured that at the end of this temporary opening, work would commence in order to link the bridge to other major highways in the region.
While expressing appreciation to the federal government for the gesture, a business man, Gabriel Okonkwo urged the government to build a solid bridge that would stand the test of time. 
“The old Niger bridge was constructed in between 1964 and 1965 and it’s still standing”, he said.
The business mogul stated that his fear was predicated on what Lagosians experienced on the 3rd Mainland bridge that was constructed by the Major General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration in 1991 and suffers regular breakdown, while the Carter bridge constructed in 1901 is still standing strong.
However, transporters plying the easterner axis heaved a sigh of relief following the temporary opening of the bridge.
A commercial bus Driver who gave his name as Onwuka, said the man hours lost on the passage of the Niger bridge would be an experience of the past, adding, that would translate into making more. “Time is money”, as we say in our local parlance,
