Thousands of travellers heading to northern Nigeria for the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations have remained stranded for hours along the Abuja–Kaduna Highway following a severe gridlock that has persisted since Monday.
The congestion, which affected both private and commercial vehicles, was blamed on increased festive traffic, ongoing road construction, and heavy rainfall along the corridor.
Many commuters narrated harrowing experiences as journeys that normally take less than three hours stretched into an all-day ordeal.
“Flight from Kano to Lagos is about half a million naira, which I can’t afford. I decided to travel by road, and this is where I ended up, spending more than six hours,” said Muhammad Musa, one of the stranded travellers.
Another commuter, Kabiru Abdullahi, lamented the slow movement of vehicles, saying: “Since yesterday, we have been on the road from Abuja to Kano, and we have not even reached Jere because of the heavy traffic gridlock.”
A social media user, Aboubacar Sani Sabo, also decried the condition of the highway, writing: “Three days and the Abuja–Kaduna Highway has been in gridlock. You can leave Kaduna by 5 a.m. and arrive in Abuja by 7:30 p.m. using a private car and not public transport. Government couldn’t fix that road. Shame!”
In response to the situation, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) issued a travel advisory urging motorists to use the Kachia–Bwari route as an alternative to the congested Abuja–Kaduna Highway.
The corps attributed the traffic build-up to the surge in vehicular movement ahead of the Sallah celebrations, compounded by road construction activities and rainfall disrupting traffic flow.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government directed the immediate reopening of all sections of the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Road currently under construction to ease the hardship faced by commuters.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, gave the directive to the contractor handling the project, Infiouest Nigeria Limited, as part of measures aimed at reducing congestion and improving safety along the busy highway during the festive period.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, the decision became necessary to ensure smoother vehicular movement for the large number of travellers expected to use the road for the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
The statement added that the minister had also been briefed about an earlier accident along the corridor, noting that the obstruction caused by the incident had been cleared to restore the flow of traffic.
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