Workers of Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti on Thursday led their students, school pupils and residents along Ado Ekiti – Afe Babalola University – Ikare Road to protest the collapsed Ureje Bridge along the federal road.
The workers under the aegis of the three industrial unions in their institution – Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics and Non-Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, said that the bridge, which was constructed over 100 years ago had turned a death trap for the people of Ekiti State.
Students of Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti, residents of the area and as well artisans and commercial vehicle and Okada riders joined the workers to air their grievances on the bridge which was washed away by the rains last rains and had since not been attended to by the Federal Government.
Traffic was at a halt along the road which links Ekiti State to Ondo State and Abuja, with school pupils who could not assess their schools participating in the protest which lasted for hours.
Among inscriptions on the protesters’ placards were
“This bridge has become a death trap”, FG has disappointed us” and “We need urgent help, FG, please come to our aid”.
The protesters criticised the Federal Government for delaying action on the bridge which needed reconstruction since it collapsed last year.
In a statement jointly signed by the chairmen of the three polytechnic unions – Dr Bisi Olasehinde (ASUP), Dr Israel Ayeni (SSANIP) and Abubakar Sunday (NASU), the workers stated,
“We are here as trade unions to embark on this peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the deadly condition of Ureje Bridge along the FPA Road in Ado Ekiti.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to declare the road as a death trap and that,
as a matter of urgency, President Muhammadu Buhari should mandate the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, to instantly address the bridge’s reconstruction before the 2020 raining season totally render the bridge impassable.“We want to say without mincing words that if the Federal Government failed to promptly heed our call, we would have no choice than to relocate our offices to Ureje Bridge and further protest to the National Assembly for the sack of the Work’s Minister.
“This protest became necessary because of the failure of the Federal Government to attend to
the situation of Ureje Bridge over the years.“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 FPA and ABUAD in particular and the people of Ekiti State in general.
“Unfortunately, the cries and complaints of the people to the Federal Government on the deplorable condition of the bridge has fallen to the selective deaf hears of the government.
“We equally want to inform you that ABUAD and the FPA that are located on this road have been solely responsible for the maintenance of the road and the old Ureje Bridge since 2010.
“They continued to do this till 2019 when the road was awarded by Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to a local contractor for repairs. Unfortunately, the contractor ended up leaving the road worse than he met it. Indeed, he has done more incalculable damage to the road and rendered it grossly impassable,” the FPA workers said.
