Fear Grips Commuters as Gridlock Intensifies  on Lokoja-Abuja Highway

. It’s national shame, Says Kogi PDP

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja


Following the inability to clear the ongoing gridlock on Lokoja-Abuja Highway, palpable fear may have gripped the commuters and drivers plying the road during the Easter period.

The gridlock which started at bad portion of Lokoja-Abuja Highway and subsequent rain fall which blocked the other side of the road at Okunmi, made it  practically impossible for the easy movement of vehicles on the road.

The Kogi State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Teninu Etukulu, explained the FRSC operatives have been deployed to the scene, stressing that efforts to ease free movement was thwarted following the impatience of some articulated truck drivers rushing to cross to the otherside and their vehicles falling in the process and blocking the only passage .

Etukulu pointed out that operatives of FRSC are not relenting in clearing the road for smooth passage, noting that it absolutely required patience to revive the fallen articulated trucks and repaired the otherside of the highway for free vehicular movement.

Some of the commuters who were trapped expressed fear that they might not be able to leave Lokoja before the end of Easter celebration in the next five days 

Meanwhile, the State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gambo Mohammed,  has described Abuja-Lokoja Road as a national shame, stressing the the highway has been stuck in gridlock with over 10,000 vehicles trapped for over 12 hours.

Mohammed slammed the federal and state governments, saying they should “hide their faces in shame.”

Mohammed who spent seven hours on a spot travelling to Abuja, blamed government ineptitude for the road’s poor state, citing 20 years of abandoned construction. He suggested proper funding and competent contractors that are capable of fixing the road.

The road, he said is a major gateway linking the Federal Capital Territory to North-central and parts of the South, serving food supplies, fuel distribution and manufactured goods.

With Easte, he expressed fears many Nigerians will spend their holiday on the road. He called on Sen. Natasha Akpoti Udaughan to join other lawmakers in pushing for urgent government intervention, saying the hardship is “becoming one too many”