Heavy traffic jam has hit the Lagos-Ibadan expressway (inward and outward Lagos) for about two days due to an influx of motorists moving in and out of Lagos and people buying battle rams ahead of the Ileya festival, which is on Saturday.
This was confirmed by our analyst on Friday, as motorists also lamented what they described as negligence on the part of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials.
According to them, they expected the agency to have more of its officials on the road and to work for longer hours.
What motorists are saying about the traffic
David Akintoye, one of the motorists, said, “I have spent about three hours moving from Wawa to Kara bridge, which should have taken about 10 minutes. This started yesterday because I spent over six hours yesterday moving from Magboro to Ikeja, to and fro.
“I did not see any official of the FRSC yesterday evening on my way from work when the traffic was so much. Our Muslim brothers are buying rams parked by the road blocking the traffic. What we are experiencing on the road is avoidable if the agency had a proper plan, managing the flow of traffic better.”
Sola Adewale, another driver travelling to Ibadan, said, “FRSC can do better than this and the most unfortunate thing is that such traffic is becoming an annual event. Must we experience this every Ileya period when we should have learnt from past events?
” I expect the FRSC to have more officials posted on this expressway and also ensure they spend longer hours on duty because a lot of people will travel out of Lagos almost through the night.”
Motorists should use alternative routes – FRSC
An official of the FRSC around OPIC shortly before the popular Long Bridge, who could not disclose his name, advised motorists travelling in or out of Lagos to avoid the route and use alternative routes.
He said, “We have been on ground for two days trying our best to ensure motorists witnessed smooth traffic to their destinations. We have cleared most vehicles parked by the road to aid vehicle movement.”
