HUNDREDS of people who tried to beat the Monday sit-at- home and decided to pass the Anambra end of the Niger Bridge on Sunday became trapped and ended up spending the night between Onitsha and Asaba in Delta State.

Although the cause of what was considered the worst traffic gridlock on the Bridge head was attributed to the multiple checkpoints by security operatives on the foot of the bridge, yesterday’s chaos was due to the decision of most people who were billed to be in their offices by Monday morning to leave for their destinations on Sunday.

For instance, many vehicles that left with their passengers from Enugu, Aba, Owerri, Abakaliki, Onitsha and other parts of the South East spent several hours on the bridge as commuters stood still on both sides of Onitsha and Asaba.

A staff in one of the federal establishments in Lagos, Mr. Kene Obi , who boarded God Is Good Motors at Awka and hoping to be in Lagos later in the day to get ready for work on Monday  said he arrived Lagos in the early hours of Monday.

He told Vanguard: “It appeared that everybody who came home for Christmas and New Year celebrations chose to leave the South East at the same time to beat the Monday –at –home and that was the reason for the gridlock at Onitsha.

“We left the motor park at Awka at 7.00 am and by 8.00am, we were already at the head bridge only to remain there till 8.00 pm. I have never experienced such traffic in my life. The fear of Monday sit-at-home was the cause of the problem because most people were on the road at the same time so as to be away from Anambra State before Monday”.

Yesterday in Anambra State, however, normal commercial activities took place as most markets and shopping malls were open. Transporters were on the roads, although transport fares were yet to come down.

At the state secretariat, many workers reported for duty and the banks were also open. Schools reopened and some of them even conducted test for the pupils despite the fact that it was the first day of the school in 2022.