Some motorists and commuters on Tuesday appealed to Federal Government to urgently repair the Iyamoye section of the Kabba-Omuo highway in Kogi State as it was causing hardship to road users.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who took a trip on the road reports that there was gridlock on the bad portions which kept motorists at standstill for over five hours.
NAN observed that about 100 meters of the bad portions constructed with laterite was marshy and slippery due to rainfall, thereby sinking some vehicles while some got stuck, causing gridlock.
A commuter, Mr. Jigo Peter, said he lost several hours in the logjam, adding that the situation made motorists easy prey for armed robbery attack.
He appealed for immediate repair of the road linking the North with the Southwestern part of the country.
A businessman, Mr. Akwaji Paul, also said he had missed an important business appointment in Lagos and appealed to the Federal Government to increase funding for road infrastructure in the nation.
“I have missed my appointment already, this road should be fixed to support business travelers,” he told NAN.
A public servant, Mrs. Olorunsogo Silver, appealed to the government to embark on urgent rehabilitation of the highway.
“It is not good for us to be passing through this challenge and nothing is done, government should do something,” she said.
An articulated vehicle driver, Mr. Adamu Abdullahi, told NAN that he wondered why it was taking too long to attend to a small portion of such an important road.
Reacting, the Federal Controller of Works in Kogi State, Mr. Jimoh Kajogbola, told NAN that the road was recently rehabilitated by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
Kajogbola, however, said the failed portion was due to higher vehicular movement on the highway resulting from ongoing major rehabilitation of two other roads that served as alternative routes.
He explained that the industrial area had several trucks lifting cement and other heavy products from the area, hence the constant degradation of roads on the axis.
He said that the Okene-Ibilo and Kabba-Ire-Esua roads, which served as alternative routes, were undergoing repairs, hence, the pressure on the Kabba-Omuo, resulting in the current degeneration of the road.
The controller said estimates for both emergency and permanent rehabilitation works on the highway had been submitted to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to get funds for commencement of repairs.
He added that the Ember Months repairs were also set to begin on the road and other federal highways in the state.
“It was when Kabba-Ire-Esua road collapsed that traffic diverted to Kabba-Omuo Road. Iyamoye is an alternative route.
“We are having a meeting with Honourable Minister of Works and Housing on Wednesday. We want all our roads fixed and open to traffic before December movement. So, we have adequately reported.
“We are working tirelessly to make sure that the three alternative routes are completed before December, We have the Okene-Ibilo, Kabba-Ire-Esua and Kabba-Omuo to work on in November and make them free before December.
“Iyamoye is on the Kabba-Omuo part of the road,” he said.
The controller said that the three roads link Ekiti with the entire South-West and the Northern parts of the country. (NAN)
