Apete disaster: Residents ignored warnings to avoid bridge, says Oyo government

Residents of communities surrounding the collapsed Apete bridge in Ibadan, Oyo State, ignored earlier warnings to stay away from the bridge when it became imminent last Saturday that the rain would be heavy, government officials have said.

Yomi Oke, the special adviser to the government, explained that the state government had carried out several enlightenment campaigns aimed at sensitising the people to the need for them to avoid practices that could aid flooding in the state just as the residents of Apete area had, through the state-owned radio and television station, been warned to stay away from the bridge last Saturday.

And following the sad occurrence, the state government has promised to reconstruct another pedestrian bridge within 10 days, to replace the collapsed one. It also said that the bridge under construction would be made passable to pedestrians by September 2014.

It however attributed the delay in the completion of Apete Bridge in Ibadan within the record time to the weather and climatic condition of 2013, as well as other factors like design revisions and alterations of the project.

The Apete Bridge was submerged by water last Saturday following a downpour, resulting in the death of about 12 residents of the community. This led to protest by angry youths who stormed the work station of the contractor at the site and destroyed some of their equipment.

Ismail Olalekan Alli, secretary to the state government, has meanwhile urged the residents to make use of the alternative routes at Ajibode and Akufo areas, pending the completion of the pedestrian bridge. Alli, who described as unfortunate the collapse of the bridge, promised that the new one would stand the test of time.

He, however, condemned the vandalism and looting of the office of the contractor handling the project, warning that those responsible for the development would be brought to book.

Bimbo Kolade, the state commissioner for works, also speaking, assured that the three bridges under construction along the Apete axis and the 3.5-kilometre Ijokodo Junction and Apete road, also under construction, would be completed by December this year.

It would be recalled that the Apete Bridge was one of the bridges washed away by the August 26, 2011 flood disaster which destroyed some lives and property. This led to the construction of a temporary bridge within one week as a palliative measure to alleviate the impact of the collapsed bridge and facilitate the movement of the residents of the area.

Thereafter, the state government awarded a contract for the construction of the bridge which was, however, cancelled due to the poor performance of the local contractor. The bridge contract was re-awarded to another contractor, with the completion period fixed for May 2014.

Explaining the actions taken by the state government after the flood disaster of 2011 and subsequent efforts at ensuring that there was no flood in the state, the government said it immediately evacuated and rescued victims all over the affected areas and had since embarked on massive awareness campaigns on local radio and television to warn people off flood-prone areas.

“We also established internally displaced persons camps (IDPs’) and commenced the distribution of relief materials with over 10,000 beneficiaries. In the last two years, we have cleared several blocked drains and dredged, as well as de-silted streams to prevent flood in the state,” the state government said.

Remi Feyisipo