A tanker laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as petrol or fuel, and a truck are said to have collided around the Lufuape axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday, causing gridlock on the route.
Reports say the accident has caused traffic congestion for travellers inward and outward from Long Bridge to the Interchange section of the road.
Journalists who visited the scene observed a standstill in vehicular movement while some motorists had resorted to following one-way, which compounded the traffic situation. It was gathered that some police operatives also came to the scene in a bid to contain the traffic and ensure decongestion.
Reports revealed that the accident, which happened in the early hours of Wednesday, was caused by overspeeding of the drivers of the vehicles, resulting in loss of control.
Lamenting the situation, a motorist who did not want his name in print told journalists that he had been stuck in the gridlock for several hours.
“I am coming from the Berger axis of Lagos, and I’ve been stuck in this gridlock for about four hours now. What I learnt was that a tanker fell on the road,” the motorist told the PUNCH.
Another motorist whose vehicle had developed a mechanical fault due to the prolonged hours in the traffic and who identified simply as Wasiu lamented the incessant tanker falling incident. He appealed to the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the issue.
“I have been in this traffic for hours now, which has caused my vehicle to develop a fault. I heard that a tanker fell on the road, which led to this traffic. The issue of tankers falling on this road is becoming worrisome and causing hardships for road users. Government should help us find a lasting solution to this issue,” he said.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, confirmed that the traffic congestion was a result of a collision between a truck and a tanker.
She, however, assured that officers are making efforts to rescue the situation. She said, “The traffic on that road is due to the collision between a truck and a tanker loaded with petrol. We have been able to evacuate the truck, but the tanker is fully loaded, which we are making efforts to transload before removing it from the road.”