Niger State Government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have reached a mutual agreement to move agricultural produce from the state to the Lagos Ports and markets by rail.
The agreement, when operational, would put an end to moving the farm produce exclusively by road.
Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani, who dropped this hint in Lagos yesterday during a visit to the NRC Managing Director Fidet Okhiria at the Corporation’s Lagos headquarters, said the purpose of the visit was to restart operations within Niger State.
“There are some areas in Niger State where vehicles cannot access, but trains can access such locations,” he said, adding that if the frequency of trains is increased, farmers will have access to train service, and this will help increase productivity.
He noted that if farm products are moved by rail, it will reduce farmers’ dependence on roads and, by extension, increase the lifespan of our roads, many of which are damaged by heavy-duty trucks.
Sani said NRC has an existing partnership with Niger State on passenger train operations from Minna to Kaduna and back, but that the purpose of the meeting was to see how the frequency and comfortability can be increased and improved respectively.
He said based on the partnership agreement under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), NRC is the operator while Niger State Government is the facilitator.
Sani described the recent train track explosion as unfortunate, saying the government is doing everything to ensure that security is strengthened on all the rail networks in the country.
The NRC Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, said the management has been discussing with Niger State Government on the Public-Private-Partnership with a view to delivering frequent service from Minna to Kaduna and Minna to the Inland Port facility at Baro.
He disclosed that the corporation plans to increase the frequency of its freight train service and maintenance of tracks and patrol.