Bridge collapse cuts off Lagos, Ogun communities

Category: News Published on Friday, 22 February 2013 05:00 Written by Nurudeen Oyewole, Lagos

Residents of some communities in Ogun and Lagos States are now stranded following the collapse of the bridge linking their communities.

The bridge linking Otta and Agbado communities of Lagos and Ogun State otherwise known as “Odo pako” collapsed after a heavy rainfall.

When Daily Trust visited the scene of the collapse, many residents from opposite sides were seen cutting planks to construct an alternative pedestrian bridge. They described it as a stop-gap measure that needs to be adopted for the time being.

“The bridge caved in after the rainfall of last night. But the situation was worsened by the fact that a heavy duty truck was passing through at the time of the incident. Now, we have been cut off. We have to resort to communal self-help by engaging in the construction of a pedestrian bridge, pending government’s intervention,” Akeem Jayeoba, a resident of Akeja, Otta said.

Speaking on the development, the senator representing the area at the National Assembly, Senator Akin Odunsi, said the situation is unfortunate.

“Much earlier before this disaster struck, I made a move to get the Federal Government to reconstruct Odo Pako and one other bridge in the area because both of them serve as major links for those trying to access Lagos and Ogun States.

I estimated the sum of N100 million for the two projects and submitted it to the Senate Committee on Works, and the committee included it in the budget. But I think that if it had been included in the budget of a particular ministry, something expeditious would have been done,” he said.

The senator expressed hope that something urgent would be done about the matter.