ISEYIN – Residents of Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa in Oyo State on Tuesday called for an urgent repair of the collapsed bridge linking the two areas.
Some residents of the affected areas made the appeal when they spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Iseyin.
The bridge, located at Adiekola Village some 30 kilometres from Iseyin in Iseyin Local Government Area, partially collapsed in June 2013.
The affected communities and Iseyin Local Government Council had constructed planks across the river as a palliative measure before its total collapse in December 2013.
The bridge connects communities in 12 local governments areas.
A civil servant, Mr Doyin Adio, said that the road was strategic because of the economic potentials of the communities in the area.
“It is important that government intervenes in the repair of this bridge as it links Ibarapa; without it they can’t come here to Oke-Ogun and we too can’t go to Ogun State.
“We have been begging the government since June 2013 and nothing is being done on the road,” he said.
A 54-year-old farmer, Mr Lukman Adeoti, said that it had been difficult to transport agricultural products across the communities since the collapse of the bridge.
“When the bridge collapsed, farmers and members of transports unions in conjunction with Iseyin council built planks on it with the hope that it would be fixed quickly by the state government.
“That was how we have been managing it until December 2013 when it totally collapsed and it is no longer passable now.
“If you are going from Oke-Ogun to Eruwa, Igboora and other parts of Ibarapa and even Abeokuta in Ogun, you have to go through the bush because the bridge has totally collapsed.
“Gov. Abiola Ajimobi is a listening governor and we know that he will surely come to our aid on this very important road,” he said.
Another resident, Mr Dele Bomodeoku, said the economic value of the area should not be underestimated.
He said that Oke-Ogun produces a reasonable percentage of the agricultural produce in the country.
(NAN)
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