The Lokoja - Abuja Highway has been temporary closed down due to increase in the volume of water on the road occasioned by flood, the Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Muhammed Garba has said.The FRSC official who confirmed this yesterday said they road had to be closed down temporary to ensure safety of lives and property.The busy highway which links the Federal Capital Territory with many parts of southern Nigeria had since last week been flooded because of the rise in water level from River Niger.As at yesterday evening, the volume of water on the road kept rising, making it difficult for vehicles to cross the flooded part, hence the road safety officers were directed to close the road to motorists, the commandant said.He said that the commission arrived at the decision following the continued rise in the water level at the Banda Village, two kilometres to Lokoja, the Kogi capital, adding that the movement of vehicles on the road had become 'completely impossible''.Garba said it is a temporary measure to prevent casualty, saying that no vehicle would be allowed to take any risk by crossing the road. He said the road will be reopened as soon the flood subsides and the commission could guarantee safe vehicular movement.He appealed to motorists coming from the southern part of the country to Abuja to pass through Ankpa en-route Makurdi while those going to Abuja from Lagos should take Morkwa road.According to him, FRSC officials and some youths who had been guiding vehicles through the water for the past three days had been overstressed and could no longer cope with the situation.Yesterday, the Nigeria Red Cross Society said it had deployed three boats to the riverine areas of Ibaji Local Government Council of Kogi, to rescue trapped flood victims taking refuge on tree tops.Mr Mustafa Allah-Dey, the chairman of the state branch of the Society, said in Lokoja that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) released the boats for the rescue operation.Nustafa said that men of the Nigerian Navy and officials of NEMA, SEMA and the state Ministry of Environment were also involved in the operation, adding that many of the victims were said to be in life threatening situations.He said that the people should be blamed for their present predicament, adding that they failed to heed several warnings to quit their houses to avoid being trapped.The chairman said that he did not have the figure of exact number of people trapped and that no report of casualties had been received as at the time of this report.{loadposition user30}He only described the situation in Ibaji as 'very terrible''.Also, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who had been carrying out rescue operations in Idah and Ibaji local governments said the situation in the area was deteriorating.One of the officials, Mr Ishaya choloko, said: ``although some trapped victims had been rescued, so many people are still taking refuge on top of trees''.He said that the three boats being deployed for rescue operations by National Inland Water Authority (NIWA) were inadequate, adding that the agency had been contacted to release more boats and equipment to hasten the evacuation of victims.The official said that all the rescued victims had been camped at primary schools in Idah and gave an assurance that NEMA was making efforts to rescue the remaining victims latest by Monday morning.He explained that no casualty had been recorded so far.Kogi State governor Idris Wada has visited Idah and Ibaji to assess the extent of damage and to commiserate with the victims of the flood disaster.He promised that the government would assist them to resume their normal lives.Meanwhile, the traffic gridlock on Lokoja-Abuja road has become more chaotic with vehicles forming long queues on both sides of the road.The queue at the Lokoja end of the road has extended to Obajana village, some 15 kilometers drive to the Lokoja city centre.Mr Isaac Martins, the Head of operations of the State Sector Command of the FRSC, who confirmed this, said that there was not much the commission could do to help the situation.He said the problem was particularly with the small cars, adding that it takes officials and youths assisting them an average of 20 minutes to help a car out of the water.'Vehicles are moving but they are moving slowly, that is just the situation at hand now,'' Martins said.He appealed to motorists to make use of alternative roads pending the time the flood would be over.{jathumbnail off}
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