Train service from Abuja to Kaduna will resume this month after more than seven-month suspension, says the Federal Government.
The government which boasted that its achievements were enough to earn the ruling All Peoples Progressives Congress (APC) victory in 2023, explained that necessary security gadgets had been put in place to ensure safety on the train route.
It described the security equipment as such that President Mohammed Buhari and security agencies could monitor the movements of trains from their offices.
Service was halted on the Abuja-Kaduna route after terrorists who blew up a section of the track killed eight train passengers and abducted many on March 28 this year.
The last batch of abducted passengers was freed on October 5.
Transportation Minister Mu’azu Sambo, who announced the plan to reopen the Abuja-Kaduna train service, also defended the Kano-Maradi rail project from Nigeria to Niger Republic.
Sambo said: “The Abuja-Kaduna incident was a very sad one and by the grace of God, we shall not witness it again. We have taken steps and lessons have been learnt and these lessons will be put into practice. What are the lessons? Safety and Security. Surveillance, 24/7 security, round the clock.
“The minister should be able to sit in his office and see what is happening on the rail tracks. The Inspector-General of Police should be able to do that, the Director-General of the Department of State Service(DSS) should be able to do that and all other security agencies. These are the measures we are approaching. Nobody again will shave our heads behind our backs.
“This month of November shall be the month the train service will resume. Remember I said we will not resume the train service until every Nigerian in captivity was reunited with their families.
“ God has made that possible, and the security agencies have made it possible under the able leadership and support from Mr. President have made that possible and it is now history. Not one of them was injured, not one of them was hurt and we praise God.”
On the Kano-Maradi rail project, the minister maintained that there was no hidden agenda for it.
He said the inter-country rail project was meant to promote trade between two countries in line with African Union(AU) treaty.
”There is no formal agreement just like you don’t have a formal agreement for the gas pipeline from Nigeria to Algiers, what we have is an MoU amongst member countries.
“ It is also a resolution of the African Union in order to foster trade and facilitate the movement of goods and persons amongst member countries. To that extent, every country was a signatory and the AU is morally bound to execute where they are signed for in terms of the AU treaty,” Sambo said.
The minister listed the survey and charting of Rivers Niger and Benue in partnership with the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office, the Onitsha River Port concession as well as the establishment of inland Ports at Baro in Niger State, Lokoja in Kogi State and Oguta in Imo State as other major achievements of the Buhari administration in the transportation sector
He added: “In bridging the infrastructural gaps in the rail sector, the Warri – Itakpe standard gauge lines were constructed, remodeled, and put to commercial use. The Port Harcourt – Aba railway corridor was constructed and rehabilitated as well as the Lagos – Kano cargo and passenger services.
“Other railway corridors under construction include, Kaduna – Kano line; Kano – Maradi, and the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri lines.
“The Lekki Deep Sea Port is Nigeria’s largest seaport with a draught of 16.5m whose development was begun and completed under this administration. The port is set for operations with the capacity to handle four million tons of cargo per annum with an annual container throughput of 2.5millionTEUs.
“The Buhari administration has also considered and approved the development of the Badagry Deep Sea Port which upon completion would have about 2.5km quay length container terminal, 0.5km quay length break bulk terminal, 360m quay length OSB terminal and a minimum of 18m draught. It is also expected to generate 250,000 direct jobs.”
Earlier, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed condemned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for always alleging that the Buhari administration has no achievements to campaign with in 2023.
Mohammed argued that Naira depreciation and rising inflation were insufficient indices to write off Buhari’s performance.
His words: “I want to address what I will call an absurdity that is being bandied about by the opposition, that the Buhari administration has nothing to campaign within the run-up to 2023 general elections.
“It’s a cruel irony that the party that presided over the affairs of this great country in a time of plenty but could not complete a single modern rail line, is the one accusing an administration that has completed at least three standard gauge rail lines of lacking in achievements.”
“They are quick to point to some economic indices like the Naira exchange rate and inflation, but the truth is that if they were the ones confronted with having to fight a once-in-a-century pandemic, two economic recessions, and low oil prices, Nigeria would have had no economy to even talk about!”
“Indeed, the Buhari administration is spoilt for choice in celebrating its achievements. As I said, we have completed the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, and Itakpe-Warri Standard Gauge Rail-lines. We have commissioned brand new airport terminals in Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt, we have completed housing projects in 35 states, we have constructed or are constructing road projects in every state, we have the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme that has almost weaned us from dependence on imported rice and other crops.
“We met 15 standard rice mills and now we have over 50. We have our unprecedented National Social Investment Programme under which 9.8 million school children are fed one meal daily, under which one million youths have been empowered.
“Another 500,000 who are undergoing pieces of training under the N-Power and the 1,632,480 households that have been enrolled in the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, and we are proud of the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure (also known as Deep Blue Asset), aimed at managing, controlling and protecting Nigerian waterways towards the advancement of coastal prosperity.”