Amaechi left indelible mark in railways, we’ll continue, says Sambo

Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, says he will build on the legacies of his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, in the area of railway transformation, which he describes as an indelible mark.

He stated this during a tour of railway facilities from Lagos to Ibadan.
He was accompanied by the Minister of State for Transport, Adeleke Adegoroye.
He praised Amaechi’s
commitment in ensuring the actualisation of the standard gauge rail for Nigerians.

“I wish the incoming government will continue with the progress in the rail sector which we are all proud of presently.
“My gratitude goes to my predecessor for all he has done while in office , even his enemies would admit to his commitment towards achieving success in the rail sector.
“My predecessor had left an indelible mark; although we have limited time, we have vowed to continue where the former minister stopped.”
After a train ride from Lagos to Ibadan, Sambo, who interacted with some of the train passengers in Abeokuta, expressed satisfaction with the standard guage train service.

He commended the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation for their support
“We have been receiving support from the management of railway; we hope it will be sustained to enable us to create the enabling environment for business to strive and reduce cost of doing business.”

Sambo, who interacted with some train passengers at Wole Soyinka Railway Station in Abeokuta during the Lagos-Ibadan train tour, said he was satisfied with the service and favourable persengers’ comments.

“I am highly impressed with the railway modernisation programme of this administration. What we have seen is unprecedented. And we have vowed, my colleague and I, that within the short time that we have to spend as ministers, we will build on what we have found so that the trajectory will not be truncated in any way at all.”

Speaking on the Abuja-Kaduna railway corridor, Sambo reiterated the ministry’s stance on resuming operations in November.
He however refrained from stating a specific resumption date and asked Nigerians to wait patiently.
“We have announced previously that we are going to commence operations on that line this month. We have the target date. It is not necessary for me to share that date publicly. I don’t think that would help in running the service. Nigerians are interested in the service, right? Today is November 17; less than two weeks before the month is over. So, just be patient,” the minister said.

The team also visited the control tower, where Managing Director, NRC, Mr Fidet Okhiria, explained the importance of the place in monitoring the entire gamut of train operations along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor and to cover the entire railway network later.

Okhiria earlier in his welcome address commended the FG’s commitment towards ensuring completion of all the projects within the time frame, adhering to quality and international best practices.

He said that railway was the cornerstone of economic growth of all countries through mass movement of freight and people, thereby creating direct and indirect job opportunities, urbanisation, business expansion and social integration for peaceful coexistence.

“In the recent time, the NRC has been facing some challenges which include security and vandalisation. We thank the minister and his team for their effort towards ensuring that the railway corridors are now properly secure for the safety of our esteemed passengers and other stakeholders.

” I also commend the effort of he Honourable minister by ensuring all hostages of the AKTS infamous train attack were released before the resumption of the train operations on AKTS. This shows the compassion and empathy of our minister,” Okhiria said.