The decision of the administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Governor Abiola Ajimobi in Oyo State to use a $200m World Bank loan to reconstruct 14 bridges destroyed by the 26th August, 2011 flood in Ibadan is the “highest degree of insensitivity and crass irresponsiveness”.
This was the reaction of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde to the announcement by the government that it would use the loan being processed at the World Bank for the purpose.
Makinde in a statement on Sunday lamented the sudden realisation of the government on the need for the repair of the bridges that were destroyed barely three months after its inauguration at the twilight of the administration, calling it a reflection of the government’s lack of shame and misplacement of priority..
According to the SDP candidate, “the outgoing government of Ajimobi has displayed its lack of human feeling and the most bizarre was its exhibition of same by coming out to announce its readiness to rebuild the bridges almost four years after their destruction by flood.”
“It becomes more worrisome when the proposed reconstruction is being hinged on a World Bank loan yet to be obtained, and one wonders what the government has been thinking about the residents of the affected communities since 2011.
“Yet, this is a government that hurriedly went into the construction of Mokola fly over bridge at a whooping cost of almost N3bn as if the continued existence of the citizens of the state relied solely on it. What a misplaced priority and lack of regard for the welfare of the people!”
“Curiously, the government didn’t list the abandoned Apete bridge in the list of bridges to be reconstructed, perhaps because it wanted to create the impression that it had completed the project. Yet the people of the community are still living in agony over the bad state the entire road has been left with the contractor handling it absconding due to non-availability of funds.”
Urging residents of the state not to allow themselves to be hoodwinked by the ruling party’s propaganda, Makinde insisted that the time had come for the state to move away from politics of deceit laced with insensitivity and lack of human feeling by voting for his party in all the elections. Makinde assured that the SDP administration to be led by him in the state would place the needs of the people ahead all other things and would relate with the people with the fear of God.
“I may not be right all the time, but, I will be honest and sincere with the people all the time,” Makinde vowed.
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