Posted by The Edo State Government has expressed sorrow over the heinous accident that occurred on Thursday on the Ovia river bridge, along the Benin-Lagos road, involving a Toyota Hiace 18 seater bus and a truck, in which 11 people were killed.
Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, speaking on behalf of the state government on Friday, stated that the state government was prepared to repair decrepit federal roads around the state in order to reduce accidents and time wasted on the roads.
Shaibu, who made the revelation on Friday during a phone-in pidgin English program on ITV/Radio Benin, explained why the state government failed to repair federal roads in the state.
He stated that the state government had previously undertaken Federal road repairs but had not been reimbursed, therefore the project was halted despite its importance to the socioeconomic well-being of the state’s citizens.
“We didn’t fix the road before, but the federal government didn’t pay us back the money because dem said dem didn’t approve am, so we said we wouldn’t do it again.” “They say they won’t pay again,” Shaibu was reported as adding.
He, on the other hand, stated that the state administration was already in talks with the federal government to put an end to the frequent road accidents, particularly around the Ovia river bridge on the Benin-Lagos expressway.