Traffic eases on Abuja-Lokoja road after council chair’s intervention

Gridlock along the Airport-Abuja-Lokoja highway has eased following the intervention of the chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin Giri.  The chairman reportedly paid an undisclosed cash amount for a trailer’s damaged windscreen and two side mirrors, which were allegedly broken by soldiers. Abuja Metro had reported that vehicular traffic came to a standstill […]

Gridlock along the Airport-Abuja-Lokoja highway has eased following the intervention of the chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin Giri. 

The chairman reportedly paid an undisclosed cash amount for a trailer’s damaged windscreen and two side mirrors, which were allegedly broken by soldiers.

Abuja Metro had reported that vehicular traffic came to a standstill on Thursday morning, from 11:37 am until 3:47 pm after the trailers blocked the road to protest the alleged assault of a driver by soldiers along the Giri-Airport road.

 In a show of solidarity, other trailer drivers also blocked the road and insisted that the damaged windscreen be compensated for before the road would be reopened.

However, our correspondent, who visited the scene on Thursday around 9:43 am, observed that there was a free flow of traffic on both lanes of the Airport-Giri-Zuba and Gwagwalada-Lokoja roads. 

Although some trucks had broken down in the gridlock, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were busy working to remove them and control traffic on both lanes.

An aide to the Gwagwalada Area Council chairman, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed the chairman’s intervention, stating that he paid an undisclosed amount for the damaged windscreen and two side mirrors before the road was reopened.

“The council chairman later visited the scene around 7 pm in the company of some trailer drivers’ union members from Gwagwalada.

 ‘’He met with the trailer driver and paid him cash for the damaged windscreen and two side mirrors before the road was opened,” the aide said.

The Gwagwalada Unit Commander of the FRSC, Ahmed Idris, told our reporter at the scene that the traffic had eased after the chairman’s intervention on Wednesday night. 

He noted that some of his men had stayed overnight to control traffic because some trailers had broken down during the gridlock.

“The road was later opened around 7 pm on Wednesday night after the council chairman intervened to settle the driver for the damaged windscreen. Although I was not there when the chairman visited the scene, that is what I was told. We are still trying to see how we can remove some trucks that broke down in the gridlock,” he said.

Here is a proofread version of the article with corrections for grammar, punctuation, and clarity.