Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Fidet Okhiria, has confirmed that ticket racketeering by members of staff in the corporation was partly responsible for the generation shortfall by the organisation.
He also explained that since the attack of a train along the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, there have been a drastic drop in the number of passengers on the route.
He made the disclosure before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance while appearing at the 2024–2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) interactive session in Abuja.
He said that the members of staff involved in the ticket racketeering have been sacked, while some with lesser offence have been demoted.
Chairman of the committee, James Faleke, had posed a question to the MD, saying, “Social media clips show how your staffers are engaging in ticket racketeering and in response, Okhiria said, “This is true, and the solution to that is e-ticketing, and the government has approved that”.
Meanwhile, the office of the Accountant General for the Federation said the NRC had only remitted N345 million in revenue for 2023, adding that the remittances covered January to September.
Faleke, however, expressed worry about the revenue generated, adding that “our concern is that if we expect so much revenue from NRC and we aren’t getting it, then there is a problem.”
