The Osun State chapter of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has condemned the prolonged closure of the Oke-Fia Bridge in Osogbo, declaring the project an expensive error and a waste of public funds.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the party’s governorship candidate, Adewale Adebayo, APM argued that the continued shutdown of the bridge, without any noticeable traffic disruption, has exposed the project as unnecessary and poorly conceived.
The party recalled that it had cautioned as far back as 2023 that the administration of Gov. Ademola Adeleke was embarking on a spree of needless projects under the ₦100 billion infrastructure plan, which was later expanded to ₦150 billion.
According to APM, the original ₦100 billion plan has yet to achieve even 15 per cent completion before the state government unveiled the ₦150 billion initiative.
The party claimed that the most visible impact of the latter plan is concentrated in Ede, the governor’s hometown, where it alleged that over 80 kilometres of roads are currently under construction.
APM expressed particular concern over the Oke-Fia Bridge, which it said gulped ₦10.7 billion but has remained closed for more than four months after completion.
Despite this, the party noted that vehicular and pedestrian movement across the Osogbo metropolis has continued smoothly, with alternative routes effectively absorbing traffic flow.
“It is scandalous that a bridge completed over four months ago is still shut, yet life in Osogbo goes on normally,” the statement read. “Vehicles and pedestrians are moving freely. No gridlock. No chaos. No hardship. This simply means the bridge was never solving any real problem in the first place.”
The party said the situation raises serious questions about the planning, necessity and value-for-money of the project, which was presented by the government as a major solution to traffic challenges in the state capital.
Describing the bridge as a “cosmetic project”, APM alleged that such initiatives are designed more for political showmanship than for addressing genuine public needs. It further accused the Adeleke administration of using infrastructure projects as conduits for syphoning public funds, rather than as instruments of sustainable development.
APM therefore demanded that the state government publish a comprehensive list of all projects executed under both the ₦100 billion and ₦150 billion infrastructure plans, including the names of contractors and the exact contract sums awarded.
The party also warned that Osun residents would not be swayed by inducements or propaganda ahead of the next election, insisting that public resources should not be deployed to secure a second term.
“Osun is not a cash cow,” APM declared. “The people deserve real development, not decorative bridges.”
