By Boluwatife Adedokun
A civil society organisation, the World Institute for Peace (WIP), on Friday staged a peaceful protest in Osogbo, calling on the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the reported defect on the recently commissioned LAMECO Flyover in Osun State.
The protesters, carrying placards with various inscriptions, marched from Freedom Park through Oke Fia to the LAMECO Flyover, expressing concerns over the integrity of the project after a section of the bridge developed a depression and cracks following heavy rainfall, barely three weeks after it was commissioned by Governor Ademola Adeleke on July 1.
Speaking during the protest, the Executive Director of the World Institute for Peace, Lamina Omotoyosi, described the development as disturbing and said it raised legitimate questions about the quality of work executed on the multi-billion-naira infrastructure.
He called on COREN and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) to immediately conduct an independent structural integrity assessment of the flyover and other major infrastructure projects undertaken by the current administration.
“We are calling on the Nigerian Society of Engineers and COREN to come to Osun State and carry out integrity tests on this flyover and other critical infrastructure projects. The public deserves to know whether these projects meet the required engineering standards,” Omotoyosi said.
The civil society leader also urged anti-graft agencies, particularly the EFCC and ICPC, to investigate the procurement and execution of the project, insisting that public confidence could only be restored through an independent probe.
“It is unfortunate that a flyover commissioned only a few weeks ago has already developed a defect. The EFCC, ICPC, COREN and other relevant agencies should investigate the circumstances surrounding the project, while the Osun State Government should obtain a comprehensive explanation from the contractor responsible for its construction,” he said.
Omotoyosi stressed that the protest was not politically motivated but aimed at ensuring accountability in the execution of public projects funded with taxpayers’ money.
He maintained that citizens have a right to demand value for money on infrastructure projects, especially those involving huge public expenditure.
The protest followed widespread public concern after part of the asphalt surface on one lane of the 672-metre LAMECO Flyover caved in after prolonged rainfall, prompting the state government to temporarily cordon off the affected section for repairs.
Reacting to the incident, the Osun State Ministry of Works dismissed suggestions that the bridge had suffered structural failure.
The Director of Highways in the ministry, Engr. Moruf Ojebode, explained that preliminary investigations indicated the problem resulted from a cavity beneath the asphalt surface allegedly caused by vandals attempting to remove reinforcement rods beneath the parapet wall.
According to him, rainwater gradually seeped into the cavity, weakening the base beneath the asphalt and causing the affected portion to sink.
“The bridge has no structural defect. What we discovered was a hole beneath the asphalt, which we believe was created during an attempt to remove iron rods under the parapet wall. This allowed rainwater to seep into the base over time, causing the affected portion to soften,” Ojebode said.
He assured residents that the structural components of the flyover remained intact, describing the damage as a minor engineering defect rather than a failure of the bridge itself.
Ojebode added that repair work had commenced immediately and expressed confidence that the flyover would be reopened to traffic once remedial works were completed.
The incident has since generated political controversy, with the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) questioning the quality of the project, while the Accord Party defended the government’s handling of the infrastructure and maintained that the reported damage did not amount to structural collapse.
