There was tension
in Ejigbo, Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State in the early hours
of Wednesday when one of the newly constructed buildings in a mega
school located in the ancient town suddenly collapsed, leaving two
people critically injured.
Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered that the incident, which
occurred at Ajoda area around 6.05 a.m., threw the community into
confusion following a loud bang when the building, which is the main
hall of the newly completed school, caved in.
Reacting to the development in a statement, the Director, Bureau of
Communications and Strategy to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Mr Semiu
Okanlawon, said the government regreted to inform members of the public
about the incident of the collapse of the main hall of the newly
completed ultramodern High School, Ejigbo.”
According to the statement, “information at the disposal of the
government indicates that the main hall, which had been completed along
with other classrooms of the school, came down at about 6.00 a.m. on
Wednesday, after a loud bang was heard by those who were within the hall
and others within the vicinity of the project.”
It continues that “as a responsible government, it is too early for
us to say what the exact cause of the collapse is until we have full
investigations and advice of professionals.
“However, it must be stated here that all necessary quality assurance
tests were carried out to ensure structural durability and integrity of
the project, just as in all other projects under this administration.”
While assuring that engineers from the Osun Ministry of Works and
engineers from the Structural Engineering section of the Nigerian
Society of Engineers had been dispatched to the site to establish the
real cause of the incident, the statement said there was no cause for
alarm.”
Reacting to the development, the Osun State chapter of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of
allegedly using fake and substandard building materials in the
construction of model schools in the state.
In a statement signed by the state party chairman of the PDP, Alhaji
Ganiyu Olaoluwa, the party said “we described the situation as sheer
wickedness, but also expressed gratitude that no student was hurt in the
incident.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Osun
State Police command, Mrs Folasade Odoro, confirmed the incident, saying
that investigation was already ongoing over the matter.