OF SUBSTANDARD BRIDGES AND MERCENARY TRUCK DRIVERS IN GOVERNOR AJIMOBI'S OYO STATE : Oyo, PDP, Accord clash over collapsed bridge ... PunchNews

The Oyo State Government, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Accord Party in the state are at war over the collapse of a part of the newly constructed flyover bridge at Mokola area of Ibadan.
The barrier to one of the flyover bridge was recently destroyed by a truck driver, who was immediately arrested on Tuesday afternoon.
The bridges had yet to be accessible to motorists as at Wednesday, causing a traffic gridlock and prompting PDP and the Accord Party in the state to accuse the government of Abiola Ajimobi of constructing a sub-standard flyover despite spending almost N3bn on the project.
Reacting to the incident, Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr. Kayode Adepoju, said opposition in the state had always threatened to pull down the bridge.
He said, “It was interesting that only a few weeks ago, the opposition in the state had threatened to pull down the barrier. About three weeks ago, government had alerted the public, through a press statement of the plan by the opposition to demolish the barrier.”
Special Adviser to the state Governor on Media, Festus Adedayo, in a statement, also said a former governor of the state, Rashidi Ladoja, had earlier criticised the construction of the bridge, saying it was unnecessary.
“A few weeks after the (Ladoja) interview, Mr. Lanre Ogundipe, one of his aides, had published an advertorial in one of the national dailies, in the name of an anti-corruption agency, calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to look into alleged financial misappropriation in the construction of the bridge. The state government immediately sued the said Ladoja aide for what it called his libelous allegation,” the statement said.
However, the Accord Party in the state rebutted the claim against Ladoja. According to the party’s Media Director, Dotun Oyelade, the state government should “behave responsibly by admitting the frail structure could be pulled down like a pack of cards by a medium weight impact from a mini-van.
“If truly each bar was built at the cost of N45m, as the document will make us believe, then there is no reason in the world why it should crumble almost at a touch.”
Also, the PDP in the state, through its Public Relations Officer, Kehinde Salawu, berated the government for pointing accusing fingers at the opposition.
Culled: Punchng