Fuel Scarcity: Hope rises for Abuja residents as Flood recedes on Lokoja-Abuja highway

Respite has come the way of stranded Abuja residents as the flood on the Lokoja-Abuja dual carriage way has eased out.

Daily Trust had reported how fuel laden trucks were unable to access the nation’s capital due to the flood.

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For close to a week, residents of the nation’s capital have been struggling to get fuel, a situation which worsened over the weekend.

But as of Monday, the gridlock at Gegu-Kontokarfei; Osei-Lokoja and Felele-Lokoja-Kabba junction end of OkeneLokoja -highway had started fading away.

A truck driver, Mallam Zubair, who claimed to have spent three days in Lokoja due to the gridlock, told Daily Trust that traffic eased out after Kontokarfei bridge was cleared.

He said, “Though it is a gradual movement, we are happy that it’s no longer standstill on the highway.”

He said the trucks that were stranded in Lokoja axis were up to 1000, saying that those at Kontokarfei axis may be more.

Daily Trust reports that as of 2pm on Monday,  trucks were moving gradually at Felele-Lokoja end of the highway.

According to the State Commandant of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Kogi state, Stephen Dawulung, the gully which triggered the traffic jam had been located and cleared in conjunction with a sister security agency.

Dawulung said the hold up on the highway is of three folds: Gegu -Kontokarfei; Osei-Banda-Lokoja and Felele- Lokoja-Kabba junction (sharragi) on Okene axis of the highway .

He said more work needed to be done to achieve free traffic flow on the highway.