Former lawmaker, Senator Ayo Arise has lamented the worsening gridlock on the Ifaki-Oye-Ilupeju axis of Ekiti State, calling on the Nigerian Government to urgently intervene to restore movement along the federal road.
Arise made the call after visiting the affected area, where hundreds of articulated vehicles, including trailers and fuel tankers, have been stranded for about 48 hours following the collapse of a section of the road at Ilupeju-Ekiti.
The development has brought traffic along the busy route to a near standstill, leaving truck drivers and other motorists stranded.
The situation has also raised safety concerns among residents, particularly as several of the stranded tankers are conveying petroleum products, heightening fear of a possible fire outbreak or an accident.
Arise, who described the situation as alarming, urged the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Works, to take immediate steps to repair the damaged portion and ease the suffering of motorists.
He said he personally experienced the gridlock after arriving in Ekiti from Akure, noting that a journey that ordinarily takes only a few minutes from Ifaki had become a prolonged ordeal.
According to him, vehicles were unable to move freely in or out of the affected communities, forcing him to remain in the area for several hours.
The former lawmaker lamented that the poor condition of the road was not a recent development, saying motorists and residents had been contending with the problem for more than 15 years.
He described the situation as a total embarrassment, stressing that the prolonged neglect of the federal road had forced motorists to seek alternative routes where possible.
The former lawmaker further warned that the gridlock was not merely a transportation problem but one capable of affecting businesses, commerce and the wider economy because many of the stranded trucks were carrying containers and other goods destined for different parts of the country.
“Yesterday, I was monitoring activities on the road because my vehicle came to pick me up from Akure, where I landed at about 3 or 4 p.m. And I saw that there was no way to go in or out of Oye-Ekiti, so I had to stay in Ado for some hours.
“I was surprised that we had so many articulated vehicles parked on the road. Those coming in from the likes of Lokoja couldn’t pass. Those going towards Lokoja couldn’t pass either 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.
“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 that the traffic here was so heavy. This is almost worse than what Apapa used to be.
“The articulated vehicles, the trailers, the trucks, are carrying goods, containers and all manner of stuff that the people expecting them would use for whatever purposes they ordered the 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.”
Meanwhile, the worsening condition of the road has continued to take a toll on truck drivers who have remained trapped on the route.
One of the drivers, Akanda James Taiwo, said he had been stranded for about 48 hours, lamenting the hardship and losses caused by the prolonged gridlock.
Another truck driver, Muhammed Hammed, also expressed frustration over the poor state of the road, alleging that truck drivers and other transport workers were often remembered by the government mainly when their support was needed during elections.
Ex-lawmaker, Arase, motorists groan as gridlock worsens on Ifaki-Oye-Ilupeju highway