By Jimitota Onoyume, Assistant News Editor
MOTORISTS and travellers trapped for over four hours on the federal expressway between Sapele and Warri in Delta State, a ride of about 30 minutes under normal conditions, at the weekend, yelled at the Federal Government to fix the decrepit highway.
NDV found on a stopover, that the contractor handling the road diverted traffic to the Ibada-Elume and Aziza Junction on the Warri-Sapele Road without carrying out remediation work on the craters, which worsened the problem.
There was a big gully around Ibada- Elume end of the Warri -Sapele road with cars and haulage vehicles struggling to meander through it.
Motorists drive on one side of the road from Amukpe to the Aziza Junction, it is the same for those driving to Sapele from Warri. At the Aziza junction, they divert to the portion of the road opened to vehicular traffic.
Govt should take urgent steps — Okotie, Sapele resident
A resident of Sapele, Felix Okotie, who plies the road regularly, told NDV: “It is nightmarish, I spent over four hours from Amukpe -Sapele to Warri because of the bad road. Our government should take urgent steps to remedy the painful situation.
“Construction work is ongoing on a part of the road, I think the contractor is expected to work on the entire road but they chose to begin with a section first. I expect that the contractor should have fixed this other side of the road for motorists, while they continue their work on the other side.”
It is exasperating— Ovo, motorist
A motorist, Mr Ovo, heading to Ughelli, called for urgent action to mend the bad spot, saying: “Vehicles are struggling with only a section of the road. When they get to this pit here (pointing to the spot) they scramble to dodge it. This causes another gridlock on both sides.
“My appeal is to the Federal Government to come urgently to do repair work on this road. Sapele to Warri should be a 30- minute journey but we are forced by the state of the road to spend hours here. See the man hour wasted here. You can see that we are all frustrated.”
Countless pot holes— Oluyemi, passenger
A lady, Oluyemi, travelling from Warri to Sapele, lamented: “There are so many bad spots on the road from Sapele to Warri. When it rains heavily, vehicles start avoiding pot holes. Though they do even when the place is dry, but they are much more careful when the holes are covered with water. This whole action slows down vehicles, cause huge traffic on all sides.”
People are suffering— Mordi, traveller
A stranded traveller, Mordi, asserted: “The government should come and see what Nigerians go through on this road and take urgent steps. Most of them are always on air, they are not familiar with the bad state of our roads. The government should just direct the appropriate hands to come and fix the road.
escape hold-up
The deplorable state also extends beyond Sapele for those heading to Benin City, capital of Edo State. Some motorists said bad spots around Mosogar, Jesse and Koko Junction also slow down vehicles for hours, particularly at Koko intersection.
A motorist, Andrew stated: “To avoid the heavy traffic caused by the bad road around the Koko Junction most times, vehicles drive through Ologbo community in Edo State to connect with the good portions of the Warri – Benin road.”
A resident, Patrick, complained: “We have suffered for too long on this road. Few years ago, some lives were lost in a fire outbreak around the Koko junction end of the road when a petrol tanker somersaulted and spilled its content because of the bad road.
“The government should show some love for the people they lead by coming to fix the bad road for commoners like us.”
NDV gathered that motorists trying to avoid the gridlock on the road drive through Eku-Osubi-Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Junction. And from there, drive into Warri or continue their journey to Ughelli for those heading that way. It is the same way for those going to Sapele from Warri.
A villager, Madam Roselyn explained: “To beat this traffic trouble, some motorists from Warri go through Eku to Sapele. And they also come through the same road.”
Back to the same problem— Fred, commuter
A passenger travelling to Lagos, Fred, bemoaned: “The Sapele-Warri road was so bad then that a former governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, had to intervene when the cries of passengers and travellers became unbearable. We are back to the same problem. This time government should not hesitate to act.”
Security threat
The deplorable condition has also resulted to security challenges for passengers and motorists. There have been several reports of kidnappers taking advantage of the situation to carry out their mindless criminal activities, particularly around the Elume Bridge area.
A villager, Fred, told NDV: “Kidnappings have been rampant around Elume to Opuraja part of the road because of the bad spots. We always pray when we come close to these areas, particularly when trapped on the road at night.”
We want long-lasting work, motorists tell NDDC
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, recently said it would commence repair work on the bad portions, while the motorists commended the move, they appealed that a durable work be done this time.
Vanguard
