Motorists were on Saturday stranded at the Ekori/Obubra end of the
Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja highway in Cross River State following the blockage
of traffic by a fallen trailer.
Southern City News gathered on
Sunday that among those stranded was the State Governor, Prof. Ben
Ayade, who was on his way to his hometown, Obudu, for a thanksgiving
service.
It was learnt that after attempts to clear the way
failed, the governor and his entourage, had to make a detour through
another route to get to his destination.
No fewer than 20
trailers and 60 other vehicles were trapped in the ensuing gridlock as
they could not leave the vicinity until the road was cleared in the
early hours of Sunday.
A stranded commuter, Benjamin Uche,
described the bad state of the road as an apology to a state that prides
itself as a tourist destination.
Uche said despite an allegation
that the trailer driver did not observe caution when passing through
the bad spot, the road had become a threat to road users.
“We got
to this spot as early as 8am on Saturday and blocked the only good
portion of the road. We became stranded as more vehicles and trailers
came. The scene became rowdy when the governor and his entourage also
joined us for a while.
“The security men tried to clear the way
but it was obvious that they could not. They had to reverse to take
another route. I do not know where they took but it was obvious they
knew it was not a security matter.
“This road had remained like
this in the last eight years. They will only just patch some portions
during the dry season and when the rain comes it goes back to this bad
state.
“The government is aware of the deplorable state of this
federal road and nothing is being done to rebuild the road that was
constructed nearly 40 years ago. It is a disgrace to Cross River State
because we are known to pride ourselves as tourist destination. Is bad
road part of what tourism is all about? Cross River State should answer
that question for us,” he said.
It took the intervention of the
Itigidi Unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps, following an order from
the State Sector Commander, Mr. Ikechukwu Igwe, to clear the road, 18
hours after.
Confirming the development, Igwe told Southern City
News the intervention of his men saved the situation, even as he
lamented that the trailer that blocked the road was not road worthy as
the tyres were incomplete.
Igwe urged motorists to be patient
when they get to bad spots on the road, hinting that the trailer driver
was probably impatient when he got to the bad spot.
“Road users
should please, exercise patience when they get to bad spots. They should
equally ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy before they pass
through this type of road. The road got blocked completely because of
the impatience of other road users.
“That was why vehicles got
stranded and the road became impassable. This thing happened on Friday
night and the road was eventually cleared on Sunday morning. I had to
come from Calabar to ensure that the road was cleared,” Igwe said
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