Structural Defects: Makinde Orders Probe Of N400m Model School Inaugurated By Ajimobi In 2019

Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, on Monday, paid a visit to Oba Akinbiyi High School, Oremeji, Ibadan, to assess “structural defects” reported at the school.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, in a statement on Monday said the governor, who expressed dissatisfaction about the quality of job done at the school ordered the state Ministry of Works to investigate it.

The school was said to have been inaugurated at the twilight of late Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration.

The governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Education, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye; officials of the ministry, the Auditor-General of the State and officials of the Ministry of Works and others.

The governor also asked state officials to investigate the reason behind the immediate past administration’s termination of contract for the school building and the subsequent approval for its execution by Direct Labour at the cost of N400m.

The governor maintained that the visit became important following reports that the building has structural challenges and that staffers and students could not feel at ease inside the structure completed only a year and some months ago.

He frowned on the structural defects noticed in the building, stating that the walls and the tiles were already giving way just one year after completion, adding that the structural integrity of the entire building was doubtful considering its present dilapidated state.

The governor said, “In the file that came to me, this place was inaugurated the week that I took over, 29th of May, 2019, a year plus ago. You can see it out there. Even the Oba Akinbiyi they wrote (the signboard) there, is falling off. If you go inside, the tiles are broken. The structural integrity of the entire building is doubtful, and we have teachers and students in there. We don’t want the building to collapse on anybody. So, we came to check.

“The borehole is not working. According to the principal, they have 57 toilets in here, but the students still go to the bush to do stuff. From the report that came to me, the contract was terminated from the original contractor and over N400m was released by the government to complete it through direct labour.

“So, I believe they will have to make some explanations as to why, first, the contract was terminated; second, why N400m was spent and the tiles, the doors, everything are basically broken.

“If, in one year, this whole thing is fallen into pieces, and people build their own houses and expect to live there for at least 25 years, this is obviously not acceptable to us. And we will get to the root of it.”