Flood: Operators Charge N5000 for Canoe Ride in Kogi

Operators charge N5000 and N300 to ferry a vehicle and individual respectively in the Kogi flooded areas.
Our correspondent reports that operators are using a small ferry boats to move vehicles from Kambawa area to cross the River Niger at Banda at exorbitant prices.

One of the operators who crave anonymity said they are collecting N5,000 per a vehicle and that the compartment can conveniently carry three vehicles and their passengers.

Our reporter, who was at Nkomi, observed that canoes were being used to ferry passengers across the flooded part.

A passenger who was traveling from Kano to Lagos said he paid N300 to cross the flooded part at Banda and also paid another N100 to cross Nkomi part of the road.

Another passenger from Lokoja going to Abuja Lucy Augustine lamented that she paid N200 to ride a commercial motorcycle from Natako area of Lokoja to Nkomi where she will board a canoe at N100 before advancing to Banda to board another canoe.

Also, passengers traveling to the northern part of the country and those from the North to the south are facing difficulties in crossing the flooded part at Nkomi and Banda before boarding vehicles to their destinations.

The road still remained trapped while motorists and passengers were still stranded on a long queue stretching from Natako area in Lokoja to Kabba junction. He said he has been on the road since yesterday, calling on the government to do something to ameliorate the suffering of the passengers.

At Natako park, it was observed that it there were so many vehicles who could not travel as a result of the flood while drivers were seen in groups discussing.

A driver at the park, Yusuf Muhammed Kolo, said in the last one week their business has been completely down as none of them have traveled out of Lokoja.

“Our route is Kano, Kaduna, Jos and Gusau but no passenger has traveled from the park due to flood. Some of us who tried to cross the flooded part have their vehicle engine damage. As you know, we are using small vehicle so we can’t move. Things are hard for us,” he said

The Red Cross chairman, Mustafa Allah-Dey said the development had forced the National Inland Waterways Authority to release five additional boats for the rescue operation in Ibaji where hundreds of people were being trapped.

According to him, the trapped victims have been taken refuge on tree tops since Saturday before they were brought down, saying that they have been taken to the four camps Idah.

The Kogi state Sector Commander of the FRSC Mohammed Garba, said the road remain closed with no movement of vehicles.

According to him,  the water level is still increasing hence movement on the road is not possible now, saying he is not certain when the road will be opened as long as the water level keeps increasing. He said that motorists plying the Lokoja- Abuja Highway should  make use of alternative route as earlier advised.

Meanwhile, Allah-Dey said that five bodies washed away by the floods have been recovered. He said the bodies were buried, bringing the total number of death recorded so far as a result of the flood to 11, saying Ibaji and Idah are worse hit.