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.