•Calls for restoration of eastern rail lines
Fred Itua, Abuja
Senate has decried alleged marginalisation of the South South and South East, following exclusion of the two regions from the ongoing Nigerian Railway Development Project, championed by the Federal Government.
Adopting a motion sponsored by Senator Victor Umeh from Anambra State, Senate called on the Federal Government to include the Eastern Rail Lines in its ongoing standardisation programme and reflect same in the 2018 Appropriation Bill for implementation.
Senate also called on government to restore services on the Eastern Rail Lines which is currently out of use.
The upper legislative chamber charged the federal government to include the Eastern Rail Lines of the Nigerian Railways as one of the beneficiaries of the $6.8 billion loan approved for the standardisation and modernisation of the railways.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said continuous marginalisation of the South South and South East, will always lead to unrest. and that until the two geopolitical zones are included in the ongoing modernisation project, lawmakers will not stop talking.
Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan and senators Chukwuka Utazi, Adamu Aliero and others, supported Umeh’s motion.
In his lead debate, Umeh noted how “the Eastern Narrow Rail Lines of the Nigerian Railways (originating from Port-Harcourt going through the South East to the northern parts of Nigeria) are now in deplorable condition, notwithstanding the federal government’s rekindled determination to resuscitate the nation’s rail transport system. Presently, the Eastern Rail Lines are not in use and trains no longer ply these routes in moving people and goods in and out of the old Eastern Region; leading to decline in economic activities.
“The deplorable condition of the Eastern Rail Lines of the Nigerian Railways has increased the cost of transportation, commodities and job creation in Nigeria, bearing in mind that modern rail transport system is one of the fastest, safest and easiest means of transporting people and commodities from one destination to another, as well as offering employment to many of the citizens of the country.”