The state of Benin to Igara road.

Abuja

BARELY one month after a portion of the Benin-Lokoja-Abuja highway by Okueka village at Kilometre 15 near the Benin by-pass failed and subjected road users to agony for days until the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) introduced a palliative, another portion near Iruekpen in Edo Central has again failed and subjected motorist to endless hours on the road.
  
Road users particularly truck drivers have to sleep on the road for days because a gap in the road has become too deep, and the road impassable.
   
The Guardian gathered that some youths have started profiting from the situation by charging each vehicle N1000.   
  
A Journey from Benin to Igarra and environs in Akoko-Edo local government now takes about five hours instead of 2 hours 30 minutes. Motorists now go through Ighoneki of Agbor road to Ogwa, Igueben, Uromi to Ewu or go through Sobe, Owan, Agbanikaka Ifon to Afuze and then through Otuo to Igarra.
  
They have called on the federal government to direct contractors handling the road dualisation to resume work.
  
“This is hell,” a passenger going to Igarra to a funeral told The Guardian yesterday. “We spent almost five hours on the road for a journey of about two hours. And even the Uromi axis of the road is also in very bad shape and made passengers vulnerable to attacks by criminals as vehicles meander through the very many potholes and cuts.

“At a point, we got stuck in the mud and some boys have to help us push our vehicle”
 
We observed that there several other failing portions in Ekpoma axis of the same road which has already started creating gridlock especially during rush hours.