The Federal Government is to resume Abuja Kaduna train services which was halted due to March 28,2022 terrorists attack in November.
Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, who disclosed this at the second edition of the “PMB Administration Scorecard 2015-2023 Series while presenting the Ministerial scorecard and that of agencies under his supervision for the periods 2015-2023 further commended President Muhammadu Buhari on his administration interventions in the transportation sector of the economy.
“The Abuja-Kaduna mishap was a very sad one and by the grace of God, we shall not witness such again. Not only because we have committed it to prayer but deliberate steps have been taken, lessons have been learned and these lessons would be put to use. What are these lessons: safety and security, surveillance, security 24/7, 7 days a week, 12 months a year, all around the clock” Sambo assured
Speaking on the Nigerian Rail Modernization Plan, the Minister said that Warri – Itakpe rail line was not meant to terminate at Itakpe but Abuja but it was discovered that the concessionaire that was to handle it lacked capacity after approval had been facilitated by the Federal Executive Council, FEC.
While he assured that the Ministry is currently putting together a presentation to the FEC on the execution of the corridor based on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction plus Finance plan, Sambi added that under the railway modernization plan all state capitals across the country will be linked by railway.
According to the minister, other achievements include the completed Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail line, and Warri-Itakpe rail lines with Assembly Plant at Kajola in Ogun State.
He also spoke about the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project, noting that because of it, there has been no case of piracy reported in Nigeria’s blue domain.
Similarly of note, according to the Minister is the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) law, the first of its kind in the Gulf of Guinea and a reference point for other maritime nations.
In the Port Sector, Sambo informed that the Lekki Deep Seaport with a drought of 16.5m is the largest in the West African Sub-region and was stated and completed by the present administration.
