Members of staff of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, students and residents of the Ekiti capital city on Thursday protested over the collapsed Ureje Bridge.
They described it as a death trap and serious hindrance to free flow of vehicular movements. They blasted the federal government for delaying action on the reconstruction of the bridge that collapsed last year due to persistent flooding at the portion.
The protest affected free below of traffic on the busy federal road as travellers moving in and out of the state were stranded for about seven hours as the protesters barricaded the road.
Many civil servants were forced to return home while the staff of the Afe Babalola University and civil servants living along that axis were trapped for hours.
It will be recalled that a section of the bridge leading to the polytechnic and the Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) collapsed in September 2019 following a torrential rain leading to a death of two persons.
Worried about the deplorable condition of the bridge, the founder of ABUAD and legal icon, Chief Afe Babalola wrote an open letter to the federal government penultimate week where he raised alarm about the impending danger if nothing is done on the road.
The protesters under the platforms of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics and Non-Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, called on the National Assembly to pass resolution compelling the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola to begin work on the road, having been approved for reconstruction.
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The carried placard with inscriptions such as , Oke Ureje bridge, a death trap save us ; The rain leading is coming when shall the construction begin ; 2020 Coronavirus bridge, we demand for an anti-virus bridge ; This is Coronavirus bridge.
Speaking during the protest, ASUP Chairman, Dr Bisi Olasehinde, said :”We want to say without mincing words that if the Federal government fails to promptly heed to our call, we would have no choice than to relocate our offices to Ureje Bridge .
“Further, we will protest to the National Assembly for the sack of the Works Minister if the FG fails to accede to our request.
“We are here to inform the whole world and remind Nigerians that during the last raining season, Ureje Bridge claimed lives and destroyed property that worth millions of Naira and caused serious havoc to students and staff of the Federal Polytechnic and Afe Babalola University in particular and the people.
“We equally want to inform you that Afe Babalola University and the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti that are located on this road, have been solely responsible for the maintenance of the road and the old Ureje Bridge since 2010.
“The condition of Ureje Bridge got to a head during the last year raining season when it caved in, killing two people in the process. The collapse of the bridge led to the disruption of business for thousands of people, staffers of Afe Babalola University and Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, motorists, transporters and those who had their means of livelihood along that stretch of the road are often held up in traffic for several hours.”
On his part, the chairman of SSANIP, Dr Oluwole Ayeni said the unions would continue to protest on the road until the federal and the state government set in place machineries for the reconstruction of the bridge.
According to him, “They must abide to the constitution they sworn to protect us. We will continue to occupy this place until the needful is done. We are asking for a government that is close to the people not the one enjoying the pleasure of the office from distance. We are asking for a government that is concerned with our challenges.
” They should also know that this road is very important to the economic life of the state because it leads to so many states. The number of man-hours spent on this road is very bad. It can’t happen in saner climes. We won’t close our eyes to allow these politicians to ruin our lives. We won’t allow it. The federal government and the state government should urgently do something because this is the biggest Coronavirus that is Killing us.”
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