By John Dike, Osogbo
Accord Party, the ruling party in Osun State and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) have traded accusations over the condition of the recently commissioned Lameco Junction Flyover in Osogbo.
The ruling party dismissed the opposition’s stance, alleging that elements within the APC were behind acts of vandalism targeting government infrastructure.
In a statement signed by the Osun Accord Chairman, Pastor Victor Akande, the ruling party claimed it had received credible reports suggesting a coordinated campaign to vandalise public projects executed by Governor Adeleke’s administration.
According to the Accord, the alleged destruction of roads, streetlights and other public facilities was aimed at creating a false impression that the government’s projects were substandard.
The party alleged that having failed to match the administration’s record of infrastructural development, the opposition had resorted to sabotage in an attempt to undermine public confidence.
It condemned the alleged vandalism, describing it as an attack on public property and the collective interest of the people of Osun State.
Also, it called on security agencies to investigate the reported incidents, identify those responsible irrespective of political affiliation and prosecute anyone found culpable.
The ruling party also urged residents, community leaders and youth groups to protect public infrastructure by reporting suspicious activities around government projects.
According to the party, no amount of politically motivated vandalism would erase what it described as the visible achievements of the Adeleke administration in infrastructure development.
The party further disclosed that it had commenced additional surveillance of government projects through a monitoring team, while the Ministry of Works had begun inspections of affected sites to determine the extent of the alleged sabotage.
On the other hand, the APC alleged that the flyover had developed structural defects barely two weeks after its commissioning, while the Accord Party accused the opposition of sponsoring the vandalisation of government projects to discredit the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
In a statement issued on Friday, the APC Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, claimed the Lameco Junction Flyover had developed cracks and suffered structural failure shortly after it was inaugurated.
The opposition party alleged that the state government had cordoned off sections of the flyover for repairs, insisting that the development vindicated its earlier concerns about the quality of the project.
According to the APC, it had previously questioned the qualifications of those handling the construction and expressed concerns over the engineering standards of the project.
The party argued that the reported defects raised questions about the integrity of other infrastructure projects executed by the Adeleke administration.
It called on professional bodies, including the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE) and the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), to carry out independent structural assessments of the flyover.
The APC also urged the engineering bodies to advise the state government to suspend the commissioning and use of other roads, bridges and flyovers pending comprehensive technical evaluations, maintaining that public safety should be paramount.
As of the time of filing this report, the Osun State Government had not issued a separate official statement responding directly to the APC’s allegations regarding the structural integrity of the Lameco Junction Flyover, while the APC had also not responded to the Accord Party’s allegation that its members were behind acts of vandalism.
