Fidelis David in Akure
The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State and the state Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu yesterday traded words over Akeredolu’s inauguration of the iconic Olaiya flyover in Osogbo, Osun State.
Akeredolu had on Thursday inaugurated the flyover and commended his Osun State counterpart, Adeboyega Oyetola, for improving on infrastructural amenities in the state.
The PDP in a statement made available to Journalists by its Publicity Secretary in the state, Kennedy Peretei, slammed the governor and wondered why Akeredolu would travel all the way to Osogbo to celebrate what he himself is unable to do in Ondo State.
The statement reads: “Perhaps, the event would not have needed any mention, but for the irony and shamelessness associated with it. Even if Akeredolu was invited to the ceremony, he should have declined, if only to save himself from embarrassment.
“It is common knowledge that Akure is the only state capital in the southwest without single fly over. Osogbo has a population of 750,000 (2022) while Akure has 717,000 (2022). Osun State does not collect as much money as Ondo State from the federation account monthly. Statistics of average monthly allocation to States in 2022 showed that Osun State is number 36 with N1.506b and Ondo state is number 13 with an average of N4.412b monthly.
“It is only a shameless man who celebrates the sumptuousness of the meals from a neighbour’s wife, while his wife is unable to prepare meals for him at home. There are several intersections in the city of Akure that can make do with flyovers. The roundabout at NEPA is always chaotic at peak hours. The same with Governor’s Office roundabout connecting the Federal Secretariat and Oda road with heavy vehicular presence among several others. Yet, Akeredolu can travel all the way to Osogbo to celebrate what he himself is unable to do in Ondo State”, the party stressed.
According to PDP, “Under previous PDP government, those routes that created major headache for motorists in Akure were immediately addressed. Oba Adesida road was decongested by dualising the 2.5km Arakale-Isikan road, with parking lots at several locations along the road. Central parking lots were created for shoppers around Oja Oba and Olukayode Shopping mall, all for easing the frustrating gridlock associated with these roads.
“Most of the roads in Akure are no longer motorable, courtesy of potholes. Akeredolu who suns himself in the vainglory of dualising Hospital road from High court junction, has not much to talk about. The other road projects in Oda and Ijoka roads have taken like forever to complete or may be completed by the next PDP administration”.
It alleged that Ondo State Agency for Road Maintenance and Construction (OSARMCO) that ensures that potholes or failed portions of roads are repaired has been on vacation since Akeredolu assumed office in 2017.
“How it is that Oyetola waited till the last few days of his lack-lustre administration in Osun State to invite his underperforming counterpart from Ondo is difficult to unravel. Why did he invite a man whose state capital does not know what it feels like to have a flyover?”
It also alleged that the state is the only oil producing state in southwest Nigeria, yet it has next to nothing to show for its jumbo allocation in the last five years.
Reacting, Governor Akeredolu said It has become crystal clear that the PDP in the state has no iota of respect for human lives and it is prepared, out of desperation, to play politics with the lives of the people and demean any effort of his administration to save lives.
Akeredolu, through his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde said: “For clarity and education of the PDP, flyovers are not constructed for decoration or fancy. They are constructed as careful interventions to forestall unnecessary road mishaps. Since Government responsibilities are huge with limited resources, the need to plan and prioritise projects has become expedient.
“For several years, the intersection at Ore was a nightmare, not only to the people of Ondo State but other road users plying the Lagos/Benin Expressway. Sadly, there were frequent carnages at that spot in Ore. Lives were lost. Precious times were wasted due to gridlocks. To address the nasty situation, Governor Akeredolu moved and constructed a flyover, the very first in Ondo State, to save lives and promote economic activities in Ore, which is the economic hub of the state.
“It is, however, shameful that the PDP, out of self-inflicted selective amnesia, has suddenly forgotten this huge intervention and decided to demean the great effort that has continued to save lives in the state. Politics has boundaries. It should not cross the line when it comes to any efforts geared towards saving the lives of our people. Any act contrary to this is, at least, insensitive. Every responsible opposition knows that saving the lives of the people is a collective gain for the state”.
Governor Akeredolu noted that he is the first governor in the state to construct the first flyover and no adversarial politics can change the narrative.
“The clamour for a flyover at the popular Oba Adesida road due to traffic logjams at a time has been defeated with the placement of concrete barriers on the median. It turned out that what was needed was to stop people from indiscriminately crossing the road and not a flyover.
“Similarly, the obvious spots where flyover would have been needed in Akure are both FUTA north gate and Onyarubulem junction. But the combined team of the state and federal governments have taken a traffic sensor of the roads and discovered that human recklessness and flagrant violation of traffic rules are the cause of the traffic situations on these spots”.
He noted that was ridiculous that a party that was in government for eight years in the state and refused to construct even a pedestrian bridge throughout its stay in office during an era of economic boom has now suddenly realised the need for a flyover in Akure
