Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has ordered an immediate increase in security around the Ola Iya Bridge to safeguard it from potential vandalism and reckless driving.
The governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, clarified directive follows the spread of false alarms alleging deliberate sabotage of the bridge—a claim some interpret as a possible setup to blame the government.
Governor Adeleke dispelled these rumours, emphasising that there was no orchestrated attack on the bridge as suggested by opposition groups.
Instead, a trailer reportedly struck a section of the bridge, as confirmed by the police. Claims of a government-sponsored attack on the bridge are merely fake news.
To prevent the opposition from exploiting the incident as a pretext for sabotage aimed at discrediting the government, Governor Adeleke has directed security agencies to reinforce security around the bridge.
This measure he said aims to deter any attempts by fifth columnists to damage the facility and attribute it to the government.
“The report at the disposal of the state government indicated that elements within the opposition may be planning to tamper with the structures of the bridge and then turned around to blame it on the government. This is to pursue their fanciful fake news that the state government is planning to demolish the bridge.
“Mr Governor has therefore instructed service commanders to mount surveillance around the bridge and apprehend any fifth columnist found to be engaging in infra terrorism to face the full wrath of the law.
“Mr Governor has also reiterated his satisfaction with his directive to ban heavy-duty trucks from plying the bridge as recommended by the state security council and is the practice in several major cities as a strategy to protect such bridges from any likely deterioration or possible collapse due to excessive load carriage.
“There is no plan to demolish Olaiya bridge. Our goal is to secure it from any likely overburden, or overload that may create possible collapse over time. The bridge is a state asset and I must secure and protect it”, the State governor was quoted as saying.
On the Okefia and LAMECO overhead bridges, the governor commended the contractor for executing the project with adherence to best practices and achieving a quality that aligns with global standards seen in Europe and North America.
“I inspected the dualisation and overhead bridges privately this week. With opinions from the Nigerian Society of Engineers and experts who have worked on similar flyovers all over the world, I am proud of the quality of the job done by our local engineers”, the state governor noted.
