THE National Assembly on Saturday threw its weight behind the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge tracks. The joint committee on Land Transport of the Senate and House of Representatives, expressed delight at the pace of work, saying they were impressed that the project is nearing completion. The Joint Committee had embarked on the routine inspection as part of its oversight functions. The Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transport Senator Abdulfatai Buhari confirmed this.
“I am happy at what I have seen so far, and it is instructive that we are on this trip barely three days after the 2020 budget was passed by the National Assembly, which for a long time in recent time achieved a return to the January to December financial calendar for our financial outlay. So we said, let us go and see how far the Ministry of Transportation has judiciously used the 2019 appropriation. We have seen what is happening at the Ebute Meta train station and so far we have been to six out of the 10 train stations on the corridor. We have seen things for ourselves. We have seen things for ourselves and we hope Nigerians for whom all these are being put in place would be happy.”
Buhari said when completed, this would serve as alternative to congestion of the roads and when it is fully on stream, it would prolong the lifespan of the roads. He said the joint committee will make a strong case for an addendum to the project that will consider linking Ebute Meta with the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA) the nation’s busiest airport. He praised the Muhammadu Buhari administration for its commitment to the modernisation of the rail sector, he said in the coming year, the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri, will take off, while Itakpe-Warri will commence full operation, even as the Lagos-Ibadan Standard gauge is expected to roll off.
Buhari urged the contractor to make the training of local engineers a major plank of the project in order to ensure the training of local competence. He said the take-off of the University of Transportation in Daura, and the development of the Wagon Assembly plant in Kajola, will go a long way in ensuring a seamless technology transfer that would boost job creation initiative of the government. His colleague in the House of Representative Hon. Tajudeen Abbas said he and members of his committee are impressed by the massive work that has gone into the project. He said that the project is nearing completion six months ahead of its proposed term.
