Economic paralysis, safety concerns as hundreds of trailers, tankers are stuck in gridlock in Ekiti

*Hundreds of trailers and fuel tankers have been stranded for over 48 hours along the Ifaki-Oye-Ilupeju axis of Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria, over the collapse of a section of the Federal Road at Ilupeju-Ekiti, as motorists and residents are distressed, raising fears of serious economic and safety consequences across Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Trailers and fuel tankers, in hundreds, have been stranded for over 48 hours along the Ifaki-Oye-Ilupeju axis of Ekiti State, following the collapse of a section of the Federal road at Ilupeju-Ekiti, South-West Nigeria.

ConsumerConnect gathered the grim transport situation has left several motorists, commuters, and residents distressed, raising fears of serious economic and safety consequences in Nigeria.

Economy: Nearly 57 percent tech products procured by governments, Nigerians are ‘refurbished’ gadgets –Leo Stan Ekeh

The gridlock has created a massive gridlock on the busy route, as it has disrupted the movement of goods into and out of the state, with truck drivers lamenting that they have been trapped on the road for days.

The development has also heightened safety concerns in the affected community as most of the stranded vehicles are tankers conveying petroleum products.

This has created fears that any accident, or fire outbreak could have devastating consequences for residents and other road users in the axis.

Gridlock in axis is total embarrassment: Ex-Senator Arise

Senator Ayo Arise, a former Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, in the National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, FCT, who visited the area, described the situation as alarming, Channels TV reported  also said.

Arise advocated urgent intervention by the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Works for attention.

The ex-Federal lawmaker also lamented the extent of the gridlock was beyond what he had imagined.

He likened the traffic situation to the notorious congestion previously experienced around Apapa, in Lagos State.

Arise reportedly noted that he personally experienced the hardship when he arrived in Ekiti from Akure.

According to him, what ordinarily, should have been a journey of only a few minutes from Ifaki to his destination became a prolonged ordeal in the process.

The former lawmaker as well stated that he had to remain in the area for several hours because vehicles could neither enter nor exit the affected communities during the journey.

“Yesterday, I was monitoring activities on the road because my vehicle came to pick me up from Akure, where I landed at about between 3 and 4 p.m. yesterday evening.

“And I saw that there was no way to go in or out of Oye-Ekiti. So, I had to stay in Ado Ekiti for some hours.

He also lamented: “I was surprised that we had so many articulated vehicles parked on the road.

“Some are on the lane going into here, and those coming in from the likes of Lokoja, they couldn’t pass, and those going towards the same direction in Lokoja direction, they too couldn’t pass because the portion of the road had become badly damaged.

“We’ve been going through this for over 15 years because, as a matter of fact – it’s a total embarrassment.”

Arise also said: “If we can reach the Honourable Minister, this needs immediate attention because the effect, the multiplier effect, is just unimaginable.

“Until I saw the extent yesterday, I could never have imagined in my mind that the traffic here is so heavy.

“This is almost worse than what Apapa (in Lagos) used to be.”

The erstwhile Senator explained: “The articulated vehicles, the trailers, the trucks, and they are carrying goods, they are carrying containers, they are carrying all manner of stuffs that the people expecting would expect to use for this, you know, for whatever they ordered those containers for.

“If we can have some permission to work on a federal road, maybe this particular portion can quickly be fixed so that these people can continue to move.”

Stranded truck drivers speak

It is noted the plight of the stranded truck and fuel tanker drivers along the Ifaki-Oye-Ilupeju axis of Ekiti State over the past two days has further underscored the human cost of the deteriorating roads in Nigeria, report said.

Akanda James Taiwo, one of the affected drivers, said he had been stranded for about 48 hours as the gridlock continued.

Taiwo described the experience on the road as a major hardship for drivers whose livelihoods depend on constant movement.

Muhammed Hammed, another truck driver, lamented the poor state of the road.

Hammed expressed frustration over the Nigerian Government’s tendency to remember truck drivers, and other transport workers mainly when their support is needed during elections.