Commuters plying the Calabar -Itu Federal Highway last week resorted to personally fixing the very bad portion of the road at Okurikang, Odukpani LGA, with monetary contributions totalling a little above N150, 000 in cash to make a truck tip stones on the road so traffic could ease, www.calitown.com can report.
Sources at the bad spot of the road further told www.calitown.com that after “spending close to eight hours travelling from Uyo to Calabar, a journey that is normally under one hour, we decided to make contributions so that the truck can tip stones on the bad spot so we can pass. I tell you, man hours are pent on that road for no just cause and it doesn’t look like respite is in sight”.
While all of this played out, commercial motorcylists on the road are making brisk business ferrying commuters from the bad spot to Odukpani junction. It was discovered that the motorcyclists charge between N800 and N1000 for a distance that is less than 20 minutes on a bike. One commercial motorcyclists, Maxwell Etim, who spoke with www.calitown.com said, “…we are working and making money to help ourselves in these hard times. We are not responsible for this situation and we hope that government can come to the aid of all those travelling on this road”.
“I left Port Harcourt at 2 pm and arrived Calabar at 2 am, this is awful, painful and unacceptable…”, Edmond Ewa called www.calitown.com to complain. Transport fares have also gone up as commuters now pay between N1800 to N2000 from Calabar to Uyo. At the Akwa Ibom State Transport Company park on Eta Agbor this afternoon, very few cars ready to travel to Uyo were spotted with most drivers insisting that it is not a wise decision to ” carry passengers to Uyo through Ugep, when Uyo is just by the corner. That is a very far trip”. Government sources were yet to respond to enquiries at press time.