Hundreds of articulated vehicles, including trailers and fuel tankers, have been stranded for about 48 hours along the Ifaki-Oye-Ilupeju axis of Ekiti State following the collapse of a section of the federal road at Ikupeju-Ekiti.
The road collapse has triggered a massive gridlock on the busy route, disrupting the movement of goods into and out of the state and leaving motorists, residents and truck drivers stranded.
The situation has also raised safety concerns in the affected community, with many of the trapped vehicles transporting petroleum products. Residents fear that an accident or fire outbreak could have devastating consequences.
Former Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Ayo Arise, who visited the area, described the situation as alarming and called for urgent intervention by the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Works.
Arise said the scale of the gridlock was worse than he had imagined, comparing it to the notorious traffic congestion previously experienced around Apapa in Lagos State.
He said he personally experienced the impact of the road failure after arriving in Ekiti from Akure, explaining that a journey that should have taken only a few minutes from Ifaki to his destination turned into a prolonged ordeal.
According to him, he was forced to remain in the area for several hours because vehicles could neither enter nor leave the affected communities.
“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 Oke-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. 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.
“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 used to be.
“The articulated vehicles, the trailers, the trucks, and they are carrying goods, they are carrying containers, they are carrying all manner of stuff 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.”
The situation has further highlighted the economic impact of the deteriorating road, as truckloads of goods and petroleum products remain unable to reach their destinations.
Truck drivers stranded in the gridlock also described the situation as a major hardship.
One of the drivers, Akanda James Taiwo, said he had been trapped on the road for about 48 hours, noting that the disruption was particularly difficult for drivers whose livelihoods depend on constant movement.
Another driver, Muhammed Hammed, lamented the poor condition of the road and expressed frustration over what he described as the government’s tendency to remember truck drivers and other transport workers mainly when their support is needed during elections.
The affected section of the federal road remains a major concern for motorists and communities as calls grow for urgent repairs to restore the movement of people, goods and petroleum products along the route.
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