By The start of construction on the long-awaited Oko-Olowo flyover in Ilorin, Kwara State, has triggered a public tussle between Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Senator Saliu Mustapha, representing Kwara Central, each claiming responsibility for pushing the project to reality.
Mustapha’s Account
Mustapha credits his own intervention on the Senate floor, along with follow-up engagements with federal officials, for finally getting the project moving. In a Facebook post on Friday accompanied by video of his Senate address, the senator said he had first raised alarm over conditions at Oko-Olowo Junction well over a year ago.
“Exactly one year and 289 days ago, I stood on the floor of the Senate to draw urgent national attention to the situation at Oko-Olowo Junction and called for the construction of a flyover to address the persistent traffic congestion and recurring accidents along this important corridor,” Mustapha said.
He explained that his push didn’t stop with the Senate motion, describing follow-up lobbying with the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, to get the project included in the Federal Government’s infrastructure plans.
“Today, I am delighted to share that construction work has commenced at the intersection. This is an important milestone, but it is also a reminder of what can be achieved when advocacy, collaboration, and persistence come together in the service of our people,” he said.
Mustapha did acknowledge contributions from the Kwara State Government, his National Assembly colleagues, Federal Ministry of Works officials in the state, transport unions, traditional and religious leaders, and community figures. He singled out President Bola Tinubu for approving the project and thanked both works ministers for turning that approval into action on the ground.
AbdulRazaq’s Version of Events
The governor’s office pushed a different narrative. In a statement issued Thursday through his Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Mashood Agboola, AbdulRazaq said his administration’s advocacy for the flyover dates back to 2019, long before the current dispute emerged.
“Our advocacy on this bridge began since 2019. We again renewed this advocacy as the President settled down in the office in 2023,” the governor said.
AbdulRazaq recalled a 2024 visit to Minister Umahi, made alongside Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and members of the National Assembly from Kwara, where he pressed specifically for construction of the flyover as well as the Ilorin-Lokoja Road via Omu-Aran.
“I recall visiting the Hon. Minister HE David Umahi in 2024 in company of His Excellency Governor of Kogi State Ahmed Usman Ododo, Hon. Mukhtar Shagaya and Hon. Ahmed Yinka Aluko to further press for urgent construction of the bridge as well as Ilorin-Lokoja Road via Omu-Aran,” he said.
He also pointed to an October 2025 visit by Umahi to Kwara, during which the minister assured the state that construction would begin soon. “So what is happening today is a dream come true and a promise kept by the President and the Hon. Minister,” AbdulRazaq said, adding that the project would bring relief to residents and motorists who rely on the corridor daily.
“We are grateful, and we see this as an intentional effort to protect lives and property. It is a relief to tens of thousands of our people who live in that axis or travel along that road every other day,” he said, while expressing hope the Federal Government would move quickly on the state’s other infrastructure requests, particularly the Ilorin-Lokoja Road through Omu-Aran.
A Rivalry Years in the Making
The dueling claims reflect a political relationship that has steadily deteriorated. AbdulRazaq and Mustapha were once aligned within the All Progressives Congress, but tensions grew as both men positioned themselves ahead of the 2027 political cycle.
AbdulRazaq has served as governor since 2019, while Mustapha became Kwara Central’s senator in 2023 after previously holding a prominent role within the state’s APC structure. Their relationship frayed further as Mustapha emerged as a vocal opponent of the governor’s preferred succession plan, with AbdulRazaq’s camp instead backing Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, who went on to win the APC’s governorship primary.
That friction eventually pushed Mustapha out of the APC entirely. He left the party in August 2026, joined the Peoples Democratic Party, and secured its Kwara Central senatorial ticket. Meanwhile, AbdulRazaq, now completing his second term as governor, has been positioning himself to contest the Kwara Central senatorial seat in 2027, setting the two men up as likely direct rivals.
Common Ground, Despite the Rivalry
Notably, both AbdulRazaq and Mustapha credited President Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Works for the project’s commencement, even as they disagree sharply over whose advocacy actually made the difference.
The Oko-Olowo Junction, a major entry point into Ilorin, has long been a source of frustration for residents due to persistent traffic congestion and a history of accidents at the intersection. The new flyover is expected to ease congestion, improve the flow of people and goods, and make the corridor safer for road users.
