By Taiye Odewale
Abuja
The Senate, yesterday summoned the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, to appear before it to explain reasons for the exclusion of the Eastern Corridor of Nigeria’s Rail Lines from the proposed loan of $5,851 billion from China Exim Bank meant for execution of the modernisation of Lagos-Kano, Kano-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, and Lagos-Calabar rail segment.
Amaechi’s summon by the Senate followed a motion moved to that effect by Senator Eyinaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South).
Abaribe, in the motion titled: “Outright Omission of Eastern Corridor Rail Line in the request for approval of Federal Government 2016-2015 External Borrowing (Rolling Plan),” recalled that the federal government had on April 26, 2017, laid before the National
Assembly, a request seeking an approval for a loan of $5,851 billion from China Exim Bank, to execute the rail project.
He, however, observed with dismay that the above sections of the rail line for which the loan was sought, covers only a section of the country, that is, the western corridor or sections.
“The Eastern section of the rail segment, which has a link between the South Eastern to North Eastern parts of the rail line, is completely excluded from the request,” he said.
The lawmaker further noted that “the loan, being a federal government borrowing, would be paid for by all sections of the country; therefore every section of the country should be taken into consideration.”
According to him, there is a Railway Master Plan developed by the Ministry of Transport, and of which such plan has not been referred to in the current borrowing plan.
Abaribe, therefore, affirmed that for the railway projects to have a meaningful impact on the development of the country, it should cover all parts of the country by maintaining that the complete exclusion of the Eastern section that links the four zones of South-south, South-east, North-central and North-east, and the key cities such as Port Harcourt, Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, Lafia, Gudi, Jos, Bauchi and Maiduguri is inexplicable.
In his contribution, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said though he knew the federal government was committed to rehabilitating and upgrading the railway infrastructure in Nigeria since Obasanjo administration, he lamented the alleged exclusion of the South East.
“In 2011, the federal government awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the Eastern line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri to three contractors in three segments at a total of N64 billion which is about N150 million. Up till now, no work is going on in that axis.
The simple reason being that after they generated the initial certificate to be paid, the government deliberately refused to pay them so that the project will be stalled.
“The truth is that the contract the government has with General Electric is only in relation to the coaches for goods and not for passengers, and GE is only interested in supplying the coaches and not to fix the lines.”
But Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transportation, Senator Olugbenga Ashafa (APC Lagos East), countered the motion, saying the information therein was inadequate and inaccurate.
He explained that the Muhammadu Buhari administration initially approved the Lagos to Calabar and Lagos to Kano, taking into cognizance the Aba and Onitsha rail project.
According to him, “the Lagos to Kano and Calabar to Lagos railway project covers all the geo-political zones. On the Lagos-Calabar coastal, you will find the rail cutting across
Obudu Cattle Ranch, Calabar-Uyo, Aba-Port Harcourt, Yenagoa-Otuoke, Yenagoa-Ughelli, Sapele-Benin-Agbor, Asaba-Onitsha. Connecting Benin is Ijebu Ode, Ore, Shagamu, Lagos seaports.
“Until it (the project) is finished, you can’t deduce all the parts of the country it passes and from this, you can see that two major states from the South East, including where Senator Abaribe comes from, have been covered. Until this is finished you can’t see it on ground”.
But the Senate, in its resolution, adopted the prayer calling for summoning of the minister to appear before its committee on Land Transport to make needed explanations and clarifications on the project, as regards alleged exclusion.
In his ruling, Senate President. Bukola Saraki, said the National Assembly leadership was already discussing with the Executive on the matter, and that that was what led to the amendment of the letter from President Buhari on the project.
