Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi took a historic trip on the
Lagos- Ibadan standard gauge rail line yesterday for about 50 minutes.
During his routine visit on December 4, Amaechi insisted he had to
ride a rail car on the tracks by December 18.
He embarked on the 36- km journey with members of the House Committee
on Land Transportation, led by its chairman, Abdulmumin Jibrin, top
officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, top management of
the Nigerian Railway Corporation , officials of the Federal Ministry
of Works, the CCECC and a consortium of federal government engineers
and consultants.
Amaechi expressed his readiness to invite Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
and other members of the Federal Executive Council to a ride on the
tracks by first week of January.
He dedicated the success of the project to the media, who according to
him, defied the sun or rain to stay on the project since it started in
June 2017.
He commended the contractor for bringing the project to fruition
within 18 months, while challenging local engineers to rise to the
occasion and salvage the nation from the clutches of foreign
domination.
“While praising the Chinese for their engineering prowess which has
turned a rain forest into an emerging city, our engineers must see
this as a challenge and save Nigeria from the clutches of foreign
domination in the area of construction,” Amaechi said.
He said once the track is flagged off, the route would be opened for
passenger traffic while efforts would be doubled to ensure the
standard gauge be taken to Ibadan.
He said work would begin on the construction of stations immediately
the project gets to Ibadan
