The Kaduna-Abuja highway is experiencing a massive gridlock, with hundreds of motorists stuck for hours.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the obnoxious gridlock has been a recurring issue, especially during festive periods, and has caused significant hardship for commuters.

Some passengers have spent up to 5-6 hours on the road, which is usually a 2.5-hour journey.

The Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali M. Ali, who has also been stuck in the traffic jam called on the concerned authorities to take urgent steps to clear the gridlock.

The NAN boss also strongly advocated long lasting plausible measures to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents.

In its reaction, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said the gridlock, particularly from Greenville to Obasanjo Farm, was due to increased vehicular movement after the holidays and ongoing road construction.

The Sector Commander FRSC, Corps Commander (CC), Tijjani Iliyasu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Kaduna.

He said the traffic build up was not unexpected due to the increase of vehicles’ movement after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“And the fact that the construction company handling the road construction had returned to site,some road diversions earlier removed were now turned.

“But the most significant problems are behaviours, lack of lane discipline and impatience by the drivers.

“No need of panic, FRSC and Nigerian Army personnel are on the ground addressing the situation but drivers are urged to obey traffic laws and be cautious on the road,” Iliyasu said. (Pieced together from separate reports by NAN)