By OLA AJAYI
IBADAN — The Oyo State Government has approved the reconstruction of nine bridges affected by the August 26, 2011 flood in Ibadan, the capital city and Oyo town, at the cost of N1,561,988,344.60, as well as the refurbishment of 35 public schools in the state at the cost of N279,367,977.07.

According to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo,  the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Yunus Akintunde, told newsmen after the weekly state executive council meeting, yesterday, in Ibadan that the move was to prevent a re-occurrence of the flood disaster in the state capital.

He also disclosed that the contract for the reconstruction of nine roads cutting across the state had been awarded at the cost of N1,233,252,785, stating that government had also proposed to dualise the Old Ife Road and many others in the state capital already captured in the 2012 budget.

The commissioner identified the bridges to include those at Ogbere Babanla, Apete, Olomi, Secretariat Road, Ayeye bridge, Osoro River bridge, all in Ibadan as well as the Alaadorin, Sakutu bridge in Oyo town.

Akintunde berated the Federal Government for not fulfilling its promises to assist the state in the reconstruction of some of the bridges washed away by last year’s flood disaster, saying that this did not portray the Federal Government as ready to assist the people of the state who faced debilitating flood crisis last year.

Meantime, the state has also thanked workers in the State for resuming for work yesterday.

The government also assures the people that it will not allow the peace and tranquility that have reigned in the State since the assumption of office of this administration to be truncated by antics of opposition politicians.