NRC begins Iddo Train Terminus transformation, to flush out criminals

NRC begins Iddo Train Terminus transformation, to flush out criminals

• No genuine traders will be displaced, says MD

A major facility is underway at Lagos historic Iddo Train Terminus as the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has unveiled an ambitious plan to reclaim the site from years of decay, criminal encroachment and illegal trading —but with a firm promise that legitimate traders will not lose their spaces.

The NRC Managing Director, Dr Kayode Opeifa, said the corporation was embarking on a “total transformation” of the 125-year-old facility, long notorious for filth, congestion, shanties and illegal occupation.

He spoke during a meeting with leaders of various market clusters operating around the station.

Opeifa said the new intervention would protect bona fide tenants and dismantle only illegal structures, criminal hideouts and shanties built on railway tracks.

“This administration will not take land from anyone who legitimately acquired their space,” he declared.

“But we cannot continue to look away while people build on rail tracks without approval. Iddo is dirty, unsafe and unfit for business. That era is over.”

He said the facelift had already begun with fresh painting of the terminus, adding that electricity, sanitation, toilets and functional public infrastructure would return “in a matter of months.”

To tighten control, all traders will now pay rent directly to the Nigerian Railway Property Management Company Ltd, ending decades of middlemen, undocumented payments and alleged extortion.

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“We must have a full record of every trader. Payments must be direct and transparent,” the MD said, adding that the NRC would not increase rent for now.

Opeifa also disclosed the creation of a dedicated Iddo Business Unit to drive the turnaround, alongside a security push to flush out drug traffickers and criminals who have turned parts of the terminus into hideouts.

“The right tenants will finally enjoy the benefits of conducting business at Iddo. We will leave no stone unturned,” he said.

Traders Welcome New Deal 

For many of the traders, the meeting was the first time they had any direct engagement with an NRC Managing Director — and the tone of relief was unmistakable.

“This is the first time we are seeing the MD face-to-face,” said Alhaji Rashid Bashorun Ajibola, Chairman of the Iddo Railway Terminal Traders.

“For years, we lived with rumours that we would be forcefully ejected. Today, he has calmed those fears.”

Ajibola said Iddo Market plays a key role in Nigeria’s food distribution chain, including rice supplies “to every corner of the country,” and pledged full cooperation with the NRC.

Similarly, Mr. Aina Adekoya, Chairman of the Ijora Olopa Ajeloro Fish Market, said Opeifa’s assurances had restored confidence.

“We are glad he is not here to take our market. He is still the same man we knew when he was Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos — someone who understands the value of traders.”

The traders resolved to mobilise their members in support of the turnaround plan, saying the project could revive the long-faded economic energy that once defined Iddo’s connection to Apapa Port and the wider national supply chain.

 

NRC begins Iddo Train Terminus transformation, to flush out criminals