A tanker laden with petrol, fell on Friday near Berger bus stop, resulting in traffic gridlock on the Lagos-end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the tanker lost control and rested on its side at about 7:a.m., forcing traffic officers to halt vehicular movement on the Ibadan-bound lanes, thereby causing a traffic jam that had stretched to Ojota at noon.
The traffic gridlock later extended to both sides of the road.
NAN learnt that the timely intervention of security operatives and transport managers prevented the tanker from going up in flames as they cordoned off the scene, prevented scooping of the petrol and diverted traffic.
The development restricted vehicles going to and from Lagos to the Lagos-bound lanes with many commuters resorting to trekking.
The traffic jam spilled over to the Ojodu Berger Road up to Agidingbi Road.
Some affected passengers told NAN that they left home early in the morning to participate in the Sallah morning prayer, but could not meet up.
Some others said that they rushed out to make brisk businesses on the Sallah Day but got trapped in the traffic.
“ I am going to Ikeja for a Sallah prayer, I cannot meet up anymore,’’ Alhaja Sikirat Abubakar told NAN inside a commuter bus.
Mr Chibuzor Eze said that he promised a customer last night that he would be at his shop in Yaba by 7:30a.m on Friday.
“This has made me to be late,’’ he said.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr Babatunde Edu, told NAN that the accident was a lone one which might have resulted from the driver’s carelessness.
He said that no life was lost to it.
“We are taking our time to trans-load the content in order not to cause more danger.
“We had to call on experts from the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers to help in the evacuation; fire service workers are well on ground.
“The process of evacuation is ongoing, and very soon traffc will be normal as the blocked lanes will be opened,” Edu promised.
The Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr Nseobong Akpabio, also confirmed the incident.
Akpabio told NAN that the fall of the tanker also negatively affected traffic on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
He gave the assurance that road marshals and other transport managers had been deployed at strategic points to manage the resultant traffic situation. (NAN)
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