Commuters who travelled during the Yuletide have commended the Federal Government over what they said was an improvement on some of Nigerian highways.
Some of the commuters, who spoke with the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, in Abuja, in separate interviews, said the improvement ensured their safety and shortened their travel time.
Mr John Edobor, who traveled to Benin from Abuja during the festive season, said the traffic flow on the road was better compared to previous experiences.
Edobor said that the opening of the Okene bypass was one of the initiatives that eased the flow of traffic during the season.
He noted that the greatest challenge of travelers on the axis over the years had had been the congestion in Okene town.
He said though there were portholes on some sections of the road, there was, however, free flow of traffic during the season.
“In the past, we went through Okene, but with the opening of the bypass, the town was completely cut off.
“The road is not perfect yet because there are still sections that are bad, but the bypass shortened our travel time by three hours.
“When the roads were in very bad state, it took us nine hours to get to Benin from Abuja but with the improvement, we spent about six hours,” he said.
Mr Obi Uzo, who traveled to Enugu during the festive season, said the road was better compared to the previous years where passengers had to sleep on the road because of congestion.
Uzo, however, said there were some portions of the road that needed to be fixed, like the Ajaokuta-Itobe road, Aloma Junction to 9th Mile in Enugu, as well as Kabba Junction to Okene road.
He called on the Federal Government to expedite action on commencement of work on the deplorable parts to ease transport challenges on the road.
“The state of the roads is better now compared to previous years, even though there are still some areas with potholes,” he added.
Mr Segun Afolabi, who visited Lagos during the yuletide, said that there were improvements on the road, but added that he plied the Obajana road instead of the usual Akure road.
Afolabi said that motorist during the season plied the Obajana road, which he described as “a short cut”.
He said that though some portions of the road were in good condition, other parts however, needed to be worked on.
“On a general note, there is remarkable improvement on the road because by my calculation, travel time was shortened,” Afolabi concluded.
“When the roads were really bad, we used an average of 12 hours to get to Lagos, but with the short cuts and improvement on the road, we spent about nine hours.
“There is really an improvement, but my appeal is for government to expedite action on the rehabilitation and completion of the Akure route.
“It is because the Akure route is deplorable that motorists went through the Obajana route.
“Also, government has done well on Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, but should put in more efforts to ensure completion of the project,” Afolabi said. (NAN)
