Residents of Osogbo, Osun State capital expressed joy as Governor Adegboyega Oyetola opened the Olaiya flyover for usage.
Some residents trooped to the flyover to take picture while motorists were struggling to ply the flyover and make history to be the first to ply it after opening.
Oyetola had flagged off the construction of the bridge on February 18, 2021 and promised to deliver it in November. But, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the completion was delayed.
While opening it for usage yesterday, Oyetola commended the people of the state for their endurance since February last year.
He assured that his government would continue to build infrastructure without jeopardizing the payment of workers salary.
Speaking on the money used for the project, Oyetola said it is the work of creativity, maintaining that paucity of funds is not an excuse to abandon what should be done.
He noted that many projects have been completed by his administration and they would be commissioned together with the flyover at an appropriate time.
“I commend the contractor for doing a very wonderful job. I thank the people of the state for bearing with us, particularly the traders. I’m very happy and I believe this is one of the iconic project.
“What we have done is to allow people to make use of the bridge. They have been waiting for it. So we believe this is the right time for them to start using it. At the appropriate time, we’ll do the commissioning.
“I commend the Ministry of works for the supervision. I commend both the internal and external consultants for the supervision to ensure that we have a very formidable, standard bridge.
“I want to enjoin the motorists to observe all the necessary precautions and follow the signs. They should not speed.
I want to guarantee that we are going to do proper maintenance of this project.
I commend the party members who have always demonstrated the love and the people of the state. We are assuring them that we are still going to do a lot. We have a lot of roads that we have completed and waiting for commissioning. We are still going to do a lot of roads. Infrastructures is one of the major projects of this administration.”
On where the state is getting money to do the infrastructure, Oyetola said, “we must always think out of the box. We can not be lamenting of paucity of funds all the time. If I’ve spent three and half years and all I tell you is that there is no fund to do anything, then I’m not suppose to be a governor.
“We have formulated our own approach to infrastructure development, alternative project fund approach which make it very easy for us to have partnership with the contractors who have the money to do the project and we can work out modalities for repayment without affecting our obligations to the workers and to other people in the state.
“So it has been like that. We don’t have the money to do these things we have been doing but that is creativity and that is the way it should be. Either being in government or not in government, you must always think out of the box.”
Oyetola also promised that the ongoing infrastructure projects in the state will not affect regular payment of salary, adding that “our commitment to workers and the people of the state remains.”
The governor also promised that 24 hours security would be provided around the flyover to ensure that miscreants would not use it as hidden place.
Speaking with The Sun, a motorist, Dara Adewumi, commended the governor for opening the flyover saying “this would ease traffic and enable free flow of motors in this place.”
Meanwhile, it was observed that motorists and motorcyclists are obstructing the traffic light.
The advertisement made on radio and television, including social media on how to use the flyover seems not clear to the road users.
Traffic wardens have thereby been dispatched to guide motorists so as to avoid violation of traffic light.
