The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has attacked the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, over the collapse of the Ozuma Bridge, in Okengwe, Okene Local Government Area of the State, his home town, .
The PDP in a statement on Tuesday, signed by its Director of Media and Communication, Dayo Onibiyo, lamented that the fact that the bridge is in the Governor’s hometown, makes it more worrisome.
The statement alleged that the bridge which was constructed with several millions of taxpayers’ money, was built using sub-standard materials, and that was why it collapsed.
The PDP accused Governor Bello of exposing road users in the area to unnecessary hardship and dangers, after wasting several millions of naira on constructing the bridge initially.
The statement reads: “It is unfortunate that the administration of Yahaya Bello could not point to any completed project since it came to power 5 years ago.
“We, therefore, advise Yahaya Bello to borrow a leave from the PDP in the State, on how it successfully completed the notorious Meme Bridge and others, without exposing the lives of our good people to any danger.”
The PDP further raised fears that if the bridge can collapse within a month of its completion by the State Government, there is no guarantee that similar projects in the State will not suffer the same fate.
He, therefore, called on regulatory Agencies, including the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, to come to the aid of Kogi State, and ensure standards are complied with.
“We are afraid that the supposed ongoing flyover, under construction at Ganaja Junction, Lokoja, is at same heavy risk, if not worse, if a mere bridge can collapse under a week of its assumed completion by the same government.”
