Lorry/Tanker Drivers Stranded on Ilesa/Akure Expressway, Decry Deplorable Condition

Tanker and lorry drivers plying the Ilesa/Akure Expressway in Osun State have been trapped for days due to poor state of the road.

The drivers, most of whose destination is far northern part of the country left Lagos with a view to arriving in good time.

Agony of tanker and lorry drivers reached the peak when the people of Irojo community in Ilesa start to prevent them from plying an alternative route in the heart of the town.

The Orisa of Orisunbare Community, Chief Bayo Fagbohun insisted that the Federal Government should fix the Ilesa/Akure expressway which is currently in a state of shambles.

He said the people of Irojo community suffered bad road for 13 years only for the administration of Governor Gboyega Oyetola to fix the intracity road in their community and they could not afford to allow big lorries to damage the infrastructure.

“The road has been bad for a very long time and nothing has been about it. But at this particular time, a section of the road has been cut off from the other. Both sides of the road no longer is motorable. The trailers and other vehicles instead of passing through the express, started going through the town.

“The new road just constructed by Gov Oyetola is being damaged, we, the beneficiary of that road just feel like we cannot continue because for 13 years we suffered bad road. So we decided to bar all the trailers from passing that road. For as long as the federal government refuses to repair the road we won’t allow trailers to go into the town.”

A community leader, Hon. Akinola Awoniyi stated that their refusal to allow big lorries and tankers ply the intracity road as an alternative to the damaged expressway was due to incessant accidents they have caused within the Ilesa metropolis.

He called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency fix the road to remove the daily suffering of road users along the axis.

“They will spoil this new road for us. The road has been damaged for the past one year, they did not repair it. Now they want to be passing and we block them to show our annoyance”, he said.

While Some of the trailer drivers who spoke with Daily Mail said they have spent hours on the spot many of them said they have been trapped on the spot for days.

A truck driver, Sulayman Muktar lamented the loss that the bad road which hampered their movements has caused as some of them were carrying edibles and perishable commodities.

“I m pleading with the federal government to interfere in this issue. Whenever we on our radio and television we see politician telling us that all our roads are good, they are providing road and other things which is not true because were passing the road always definitely when I move to other places we still experience same thing.

“I am carrying fruit which are perishable we don’t know what we be the extent of the loss because of what this road has caused.”

Lamenting, another truck driver, Ibrahim Salisu said “Your Excellency Mr President, we voted for you, we didn’t sleep because we wanted you to make life better for us but see, we are suffering now. This is not the Nigeria you promised us.”

Meanwhile, some truck have been conspicuously trapped and developed faults in what could be described as ditches on the road.

However, some youths of Irojo community who were joined by the stranded drivers have resulted to self-help to make some of the bad portions passable.