Olaiya flyover: Oyetola challenges Adeleke, asks him to prove his claim

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has challenged Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to bring forth the results of his claim that the Olaiya flyover is faulty.

Oyetola, who spoke through the former Commissioners for Works and Local Government, Remi Omowaye and Adebayo Adeleke, at the Ilerioluwa campaign office in Osogbo on Wednesday, also asked Adeleke to attach the COREN number of the engineer who condemned the Olaiya flyover.

Governor Adeleke had directed the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to ban heavy-duty trucks from using the Olaiya bridge in the state capital, citing safety reasons arising from technical reports on the state of the bridge.

A statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, noted that the decision was reached at a security council meeting to protect the bridge from possible collapse and avoid adverse incidents caused by the continuous passage of heavy trucks.

“The Governor assured the public that the decision was taken to protect public and state assets while a long-lasting review of the technical status of the bridge is being conducted by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure,” the statement added.

But the former commissioners said, “Any engineer who claims the Olaiya flyover is faulty should come out openly with his report and attach his COREN number. We conducted all necessary tests to ascertain the integrity of the flyover.

“We exceeded the load-bearing capacity by 150 percent, carried out various tests, and utilized the FUTA lab, University of Lagos lab, and Lagos State materials testing lab, which is the best lab in Nigeria; all the results are available.

“I challenge the Osun State government to provide the results of the lab they used to test all the flyovers they are constructing. We want the people of Osun to inquire about this.

“We should abstain from politics of hatred and condemnation. Everything we put in place to beautify the area is no longer functioning, and nothing is being done. The place is overgrown. What is important to us is the development of Osun. Oyetola left his legacy. We appeal to them not to set this place on fire,” Omowaye said.

Additionally, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adebayo Adeleke, accused the Osun government of engaging in vendetta politics.

He challenged Adeleke’s government to make public the road projects constructed by his contractors, alleging that the contractors have not handled any road projects and are not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as road contractors.