Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, is currently been overrun by heavy flooding leaving thousands of travellers and residents stranded in the city.
The Lokoja-Abuja road which connects the North and South has practically been cut off, thereby paralyzing economic activities, including food supply chain from the North to the South, and vis-a-vis.
Wide areas of the state of Kogi are underwater after the Niger and Benue rivers broke their banks. Floods in Lokoja, the state capital of Kogi, Nigeria, late September 2022. Lokoja sits at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers.
The roughly 196 kilometres highway is one of the most critical roads in the country, being the major link between the North and South for the movement of people, goods through vehicular transportation.
The road is also very significant to the survival of the nation because it boosts economic activities in the country.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has blamed the current fuel scarcity in Abuja and other surrounding states on the inability of fuel trucks to access Lokoja roads.
The regulatory body said the roads had been flooded.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had on September 19, 2022 warned of massive flooding from Rivers Niger and Benue to 14 states across the nation.
NEMA issuing the alert in collaboration with the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA, listed Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger Delta, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa states.
Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has advised road users travelling to the South-West, South-South and South-East regions of the country to follow alternate routes due to the current flooding around Koton Karfe in Lokoja, Kogi State.
In a public advisory, the FRSC advised motorists travelling to the South-West region of the country to take the Suleja-Bida-Mokwa road, while those travelling to the South-South/South-East were also advised to go through Nasarawa-Oweto Bridge-Adoka-Otupka axis.
It said the advisory is due to the fact that the water level may take another two or more days to subside.
However, the FRSC spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem could not be reached to confirm the advisory.
Article updated 1 week ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
