Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, on Wednesday, disclosed that N11 billion would be committed to the construction of roads, bridges and a fly-over across the state this year, even as he attributed the shoddy job done by the immediate past administration to corruption.
He said that the amount would cover the construction of 57 roads, eight bridges and one fly-over at the popular Mokola Roundabout in Ibadan, the state capital.
The governor, who said this at the official flag-off of the reconstruction of Secretariat-Bodija and Ogbere-Babanla Bridges in Ibadan, said the bulk of the money voted for some of the projects executed by the past administration ended up in private pockets, hence the low quality jobs which dotted every part of the state.
Ajimobi, said: “Most of the roads constructed by the past administration could not stand the test of time. The reason is simple. Bulk of the money voted for the projects had been collected from the contractors. That is why you see some of their roads being washed away as they were being constructed.
“But for us, we will never collect a kobo from any contractor because we don’t want any contractor to have any excuse for not delivering good quality job.
“The contractors should not hesitate to tell me of anybody who demands money or anything from them. There is no room for corruption and corrupt elements in this government,”
The two bridges, as well as the Olomi Bridge, flagged-off by the state Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Tuesday, are part of the seven bridges affected by the August 26, 2011 flood disaster in Ibadan and which were approved for reconstruction on Monday by the state executive council.
Ajimobi, who expressed the regret that the Federal Government had yet to fulfill its promise to the state since the unfortunate flood disaster, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to come to the rescue of the state in the reconstruction of some of the bridges and roads affected by the flood.
He said: “President Jonathan was here (in Ibadan) shortly after the flood during which he made a lot of promises, and he meant well but probably because of several commitments, he has not made good his promises.
“So, I am appealing to him and other well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the state so that we can fix some of the roads and bridges, and thus prevent a re-occurrence of the disaster.”
The governor particularly described the Secretariat-Bodija Bridge as very dear to his administration because of its strategic location, adding also that his would be the first civilian administration that would construct a fly-over in the state capital after the ones constructed by the Major-General David Jemibewon administration in 1976.
He added: “With what we have done in the last 10 months, anybody criticising us or casting aspersion on our administration is wasting his time as the people of Oyo State who voted us into power are appreciating the rapid transformation of the state as against the rot which had pervaded state in the last eight years.”
He promised the people that, unlike in the past, the bridges and roads being constructed by government would last for decades.
At the flag-off of the Ogbere Babanla Bridge, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ona Ara Local Government Area, Mr. Bola Fawole, said the construction of the bridge was one of the most significant projects ever given to the council, promising the support of the people to the government.
The state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Yunus Akintunde, in his own remarks, said the reconstruction of the bridge, which would be completed in five months, was awarded for the sum of N231,281,500, commending the chiefs of the community for their untiring reminder to government since the bridge collapsed.