The Edo State Government has expressed sorrow over the horrifying accident between a Toyota Hiace 18-seater bus and a vehicle that happened on Thursday near the Ovia River Bridge along the Benin-Lagos Expressway and resulted in at least 11 fatalities.
Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, who spoke on behalf of the state administration on Friday, said that the state was prepared to fix the state’s poor federal highways in order to reduce accidents and traffic congestion.
Shaibu, who revealed the information on an ITV/Radio Benin phone-in pidgin English program on Friday, provided an explanation of why the state government declined to repair federal roads in the state.
He claimed that despite its relevance to the socioeconomic wellbeing of state people, the state administration had previously started repairs on federal roadways but had not received reimbursement.
We don fix the road before, but federal government no pay us back the money; because dem say dem no approve am, so we com say we no go do again. Dem say dem no dey pay again.
Shaibu said.
However, he claimed that the state administration and the federal government were already in discussions to put an end to the frequent traffic accidents, particularly those along the Ovia river bridge and on the Benin-Lagos expressway.