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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport has summoned the Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali, over the recent derailment of an Abuja-Kaduna train.
The panel, which issued the summons on Tuesday at an investigative hearing, said Alkali must appear before it within forty-eight hours.
A Kaduna-bound train, which took off from Abuja with 618 passengers, derailed recently, leaving the passengers stranded.
The chairman of the Committee, Blessing Onuh, while speaking at the investigative hearing, expressed displeasure that the minister has repeatedly failed to attend its investigative hearing on the incident.
Onuh said, ‘We are on recess, but many of us cut our break and came all the way from Lagos because of this national tragedy, only for the minister to snub the parliament. We take strong exception to this.
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“Our brothers and sisters were endangered. This is not a joke. We are therefore suspending this meeting and mandating the minister to appear in person within 48 hours.”
The deputy chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Philip Agbese, in his intervention, noted that Alkali’s absence shows a disregard for the citizens.
“This action clearly shows he is not competent to handle the job entrusted to him by the President. It is a dangerous signal that he does not care about the lives of Nigerians or the reputation of this government.
“The President has warned that no minister or agency head should ignore parliament. This minister has chosen contempt. If he fails to show up, Nigerians should know there is effectively no Minister of Transportation in this country,” Agbese stated.
