The collapsed structure
Residents
of Ejigbo town in Osun State were on Wednesday woken up by the noise of
the structure which collapsed at the newly completed Ejigbo High
School.
Our correspondent gathered that part of
the school which had been completed and ready for inauguration collapsed
at around 5.30am.
Some persons were reportedly injured, but there was no death recorded as the structure had yet to be occupied by pupils.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola had on Tuesday
at his campaign rally in Ede listed the new school as one of the most
beautiful schools in the country.
The administration built the school following the introduction of school restructuring by the incumbent governor.
The Public Relations Officer of the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Ayo Olowe, told our
correspondent that the building collapsed around 5am.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the state, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, said the school building came down due to heavy wind.
She said that the preliminary
investigation by the police revealed that the building collapsed
following a heavy wind on Wednesday morning.
She said, “The building collapsed due to
heavy wind which blew this morning. Two artisans laying tiles sustained
injuries. They were treated and have been discharged.”
The governor, while reacting to the
incident in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon,
said, “The Government of the State of Osun regrets to inform members of
the public about the suspect incidence of the collapse of the main hall
of the newly completed ultra-modern Ejigbo High School.
“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 6am Wednesday
after a loud bang.
“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.
“Engineers from the Osun Ministry of
Works and engineers from the Structural Engineering section of the
Nigerian Society of Engineers have been dispatched to the site to
establish the real cause of this unfortunate incident.”
The Commissioner for Information, Mr.
Sunday Akere, had earlier in a telephone interview with our
correspondent blamed the collapse on sabotage.
He said that some residents of the town claimed that low calibre explosive was used to blow up part of the structure.
The Director of publicity, Research and
Strategy of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, accused
the Peoples Democratic Party of being behind the collapse.
He said, “I can tell you this categorically that the PDP sabotaged the structure. Investigation is going on.”
But the Publicity Secretary of the PDP,
Mr. Bola Ajao, denied the allegation. He said it was unfortunate that
the school building collapsed.
Ajao said, “They are driven by what they
will gain from everything. They used substandard products and now they
are blaming it on PDP.”
PUNCH
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