Thousands of road users were stranded for several hours at the Auchi-Benin Expressway in Edo State, yesterday, as protesting truck drivers numbering over a hundred blocked the expressway in protest against the deplorable state of the road.
The development, however, forced motorists to look for alternative routes into and out of the state.
The truck drivers who displayed placards with different inscriptions, vowed to continue their protest until their demands are met by the Federal Government.
The Tribune learnt that heavy traffic had build up fron the Jattu Junction to Auchi Polytechnic School gate while articulated vehicle drivers parked indiscriminately.
One of the leaders of the protest, Mr Donald Etamobe, said “We will not stop this protest for good roads until the Federal Government addresses them.
“The protest became inevitable due to the bad road from Auchi to Benin which is impassable at the moment, subsequently, the barricade of alternative routes by Edo state government, hence the peaceful protest,” Etamobe, declared
A commuter, Lawal Abdullahi, informed that he parked his car at Aviele and took a motorcycle to his office at Auchi.
One of the motorists trapped in the gridlock, Jimoh Kadiri , said he had remained on the same spot on the road for over seven hours.
Mr. Kadiri described the development as bad for the state and the country and called on the government to fix the bad portions of the road.
