APC slams Adeleke for allegedly attempting to destroy Oyetola’s legacy

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has accused the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, of politicising some projects of his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, and surreptitiously planning to destroy the former governor’s legacies.

The opposition party made these allegations while addressing journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday.

Speaking for the party, APC chieftain and the immediate past Commissioner for Works in the state, Remi Omowaiye, berated Adeleke for raising safety concerns regarding the Olaiya bridge constructed by Oyetola’s administration, saying the decision to ban heavy-duty trucks from plying the flyover was ill-conceived and borne out of a desire to tarnish his predecessor’s image.

Governor Adeleke had directed the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to ban heavy-duty trucks from plying the Olaiya bridge in the state capital, citing safety reasons arising from the technical reports on the state of the bridge.

The governor, who presided over a security council meeting in Osogbo, said the decision became necessary to protect the bridge from possible collapse and avoid untoward happenings with the continuous passage of heavy trucks.

Adeleke, in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, had said a long-lasting review of the technical status of the bridge was being conducted by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.

Reacting, Omowaiye, the commissioner who handled the bridge, disagreed with Adeleke on the quality of the infrastructure, saying all necessary examinations regarding the standard of the bridge were carried out, and the results showed that the facility was very strong.

He described Adeleke’s approach to the bridge as political and one targeted to paint Oyetola negatively in the eyes of the people of Osun.

Omowaiye said Adeleke doesn’t understand governance and that he would be booted out in 2026, claiming that the infrastructural projects embarked upon by the governor are white elephant projects that would eventually fail.

“The decision is political and aimed at tarnishing Oyetola’s name. We carried out all necessary examinations and ensured that the flyover is very strong. Adeleke should not allow his dirty politics to destroy our economy. The flyover is assisting the economy, and it should not be destroyed. We did pre- and post-reports, and we went to the lab to ensure we had the best bridge built for the people of Osun. The Ministry of Works in Osun cannot say the facility is substandard because they were all aware of the quality assurance. What is important to us is the development of Osun. Oyetola’s legacies should not be destroyed, and we appeal to them not to set this state on fire,” he said.

Also speaking, another chieftain of the APC, Adebayo Adeleke, who was Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under Oyetola’s administration, submitted that Adeleke jumped the gun in his decision on the bridge, saying the governor ought to have conducted a test of its quality before pronouncing that trucks should be barred from plying it.

“He should have appointed a committee first before announcing that heavy vehicles should not ply the bridge,” he said. “It should not have been decided at a security committee meeting. It shows that the government of Adeleke doesn’t understand governance. They said they would appoint a committee that would make a quality test and check the strength and then issue reports.”

The former commissioner accused Adeleke of hiring a company without a profile and CAC registration that had not received any contracts before to handle some of the ongoing projects in the state.

“One of the companies Adeleke hired deals with the supply of fertilizer, and it is even non-existent. Adeleke should come out and prove whether the companies handling his projects running into billions of naira are not fertilizer suppliers and cyber café operators,” he challenged the governor.