APM questions value of Oke-Fia Bridge project in Osun

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The Osun State chapter of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has raised concerns over the necessity and value-for-money of the Oke-Fia Bridge project, noting its continued closure more than four months after completion.

In a statement issued on Saturday by its governorship candidate, Hon. Adewale Adebayo, the party observed that the shutdown of the N10.7 billion bridge has not disrupted vehicular or pedestrian movement in Osogbo, as alternative routes continue to accommodate traffic.

Adebayo recalled that the party had warned since 2023 that Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration was embarking on what it described as unnecessary projects under the N100 billion infrastructure plan, which was later expanded to N150 billion.

According to the APM, only about 15 per cent of the N100 billion plan has been implemented, while the impact of the N150 billion programme has largely been concentrated in Ede, the governor’s hometown, where over 80 kilometres of roads are reportedly under construction.

He described it as troubling that a project costing N10.7 billion remains unused months after completion, without affecting daily activities in the state capital.

“Vehicles and pedestrians are moving freely. No gridlock. No chaos. No hardship. This simply means the bridge was never solving any real problem in the first place,” the statement said.

Adebayo further accused the Adeleke administration of using such projects as conduits to channel public funds, rather than as tools for development.

The party therefore demanded that the state government publish a full list of projects executed under both the N100 billion and N150 billion plans, including contractors’ names and contract sums.