Fishermen in Lokoja, Kogi State have abandoned their trade to ferry vehicles across the flooded Abuja-Lokoja Road for which they charged between N10, 000 and N12, 000 per vehicle.
The vehicles are loaded on barges at Natako area and transported across the flooded road to Kabawa Road near International Market.
Many hitherto jobless youths also engaged in the business as they assisted in pushing the vehicles onto the barges.
This was as canoe operators competed for passengers who wished to cross the flooded areas to continue their trip.
NigerianEYE gathered that no fewer than five barges engaged in ferrying vehicles from one end of the flooded road to the other.
Commercial buses and private vehicles going to Abuja were loaded on the motorised barges and ferried across the muddy waters.
No fewer than 10 youths helped in pushing the vehicles onto each of the barges.
It was learnt that some operators of the barges were fishermen who abandoned their business to make quick money from stranded and desperate motorists.
Yakubu Seidu, who was coming from Abuja in his Kia car, told our correspondent on Wednesday that he had no choice but to pay N10,000 for his car to be ferried to Kabawa.
He said, “I am on my way to Lokoja where I reside but as the road is flooded, I have no option than to pay N10,000 for my car to be taken to the other side; am praying that my house is flooded,” he said.
A commercial motorycyclist, Sanni Umar whose home was flooded, stated that he has been making more money since he relocated his operation to the flood site.
He said, “Though I am sad that the flood destroyed my home, but I have been making money carrying passengers from the bus-stop to the water side; I charge between N100 and N120 and I can say within five days, I was about to make something tangible.”
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