Easter: Passengers stranded on Abuja-Lokoja road

The North to South bound passengers, travelling for the Easter break on the Abuja-Lokoja road, were on Friday stranded for hours because of heavy gridlock on the expressway. Some passengers who spoke to reporters expressed frustration for waiting for many hours on the same spot. Mr Okon John, one of the passengers coming from Ondo State, said he left home at 6.a.m., only to be trapped at Koton Karfe for three hours. “ Imagine, I left home very early thinking that I will beat this traffic, only to be held up here for three hours.” John appealed to the Federal Government to see to the completion of the road project to avoid future occurrence of the gridlock. Mrs Grace Darby, described the traffic situation as horrible, alleging that government saw it coming but did nothing to avert the situation. “ I am appealing to the Federal Government to consider the plight of Nigerians plying this road. Darby said that the Abuja-Lokoja road project was long over due for completion. Meanwhile, The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has blamed motorists for the current heavy traffic jam on the Koton- Karfe – Abaji road. The Sector Commander of the FRSC in Nasarawa State, Mr Francis Udoma, told newsmen on Friday that motorists had turned the two-lane road into six lanes, thereby making it difficult for vehicles coming from both ends to move easily. He said that a trailer loaded with 700 bags of beniseeds fell on its side at the middle of the bridge, thereby making it difficult for vehicles from Abuja to pass through. (NAN)