Lokoja floods: Thousands of motorists stranded on Abuja-Lokoja road

Some of the travelers have been stranded in Lokoja for two days.

Thousands of motorists plying the Abuja-Lokoja road were struck on Saturday as a major section of the road was flooded.

Eye witness reports say hundreds of cars, commercial buses, and articulated trucks, travelling along the road stood still causing traffic congestion. The floods are reported to have started since Thursday but got worse by Saturday.

The worst hit part of the Lokoja-Abuja road, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, is the Adankolo, ganaja, and jameta bridge axis.

The flooding of the bridge has already caused some residents to go into canoe business, using canoes to ferry locals across the water.

Some motorists travelling along the road, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES, towards Northern Nigeria said they would have to divert their vehicles to the dreaded alternative routes of Oturpo-Markudi or Ilorin-Morkwa.

However, the rush for the diversion has caused the link road to those alternative routes to be blocked.

Checks at hotels in Lokoja show that many of the rooms were booked, with hotel owners benefitting from the flooded road as several stranded travelers opted to spend the night in Lokoja, while the traffic jam continued. Some of the travelers lodged in Lokoja hotels since Friday evening when the heavy traffic commenced.

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Hotels such as Nostalgia Hotels and Diato Hotels within Lokoja metropolis were fully booked.

The flood also displaced hundreds of residents in the city. Residents of Kabawa old market quarters in Lokoja were seen fleeing with property that could be salvaged from the flood, which has submerged several houses and left many people homeless.

Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, were seen at flood scenes trying to assist victims.

A NEMA official, who identified himself as Mallam Isa said efforts were being to see made to ensure that those displaced were taken care of.

“We were in Government house till midnight (early Saturday morning) trying to sort things out,” Mr. Isa said.

Mr. Isa said Kogi State authorities seemed overwhelmed by the magnitude and effects of the flood and have “issued a red alert statement to motorists and commuters to stay off the affected areas; and asked motorists to look for alternative routes.”