The Dredgers Association of Nigeria (DAN) has absolved its members of blame for the poor infrastructural state of Eko and Carter bridges in Lagos.
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has accused the Dredgers of causing havoc to these Lagos bridges due to their dredging activities.
In a swift reaction, the association of Dredgers through its General Secretary,
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Mr Richard Ntan, advised the Minister to look elsewhere for the cause of the deteriorating state of these bridges as the activities of its members could not have been responsible for the havoc as they were highly regulated.
Mr Ntan said the Minister may have mistaken the reclamation activities near these bridges, which he claimed may have been responsible for the havoc, to the highly regulated industrial dredging activities of his members.
The association therefore disagreed with the Minister’s position and submitted that there is no direct interaction between dredging and bridge infrastructure.
“We wish to clarify that industrial dredging carried out by our members is not the cause of the damage observed on these structures” the Dredgers submitted.
The association further noted that industrial dredging is highly regulated, focusing on areas in the creeks and centre of the Lagos lagoon far away from the bridges which it said is the key essential for maintaining navigable waterways and smooth movement of vessels in and out of Lagos that is crucial to growing the city’s economic development.
Mr Richard Ntan insisted that industrial dredging is not harmful to infrastructure like bridges, adding that the process is driven through a well articulated environmental ecosystem which ensures deeper waterways for large vessels, regulated through precession methods and strictly supervised to minimise any negative impact.
The association, however, called for thorough investigation of the ongoing reclamation dredging currently ongoing near third Mainland bridge, adding that time has come to truly know the status of those who do reclamation dredging activities as against Industrial dredging concerns to which only members of DAN are known for.
“We at DAN supports the Minister that reclamation dredging activities should not take place near bridges and, it’s important that the Minister find out the true pictures of those dredging near bridges and also not lump us at the Dredgers Association with such operators.” Mr Ntan further stated.
DAN opined that though the Minister’s observation is valid but vehemently objected to the association’s members being lumped together with those dredging for reclamation activities around the third Mainland bridge.
“We, the Dredgers Association of Nigeria, remain committed to the responsible conduct of dredging activities in Lagos and across Nigeria in full compliance with national regulations to ensure that our operations and activities do not harm the environment or vital national infrastructure and we share in the Minister’s concerns about the need to preserve Nigeria’s infrastructure .
“We are dedicated to ensuring that all dredging operations are carried out in ways that support the nation’s economic growth while safeguarding critical infrastructures such as bridges” Mr Ntan reiterated.
