From Kenneth Udeh
The Senate has urged the Tinubu administration not to exclude the South-East from the ongoing railway modernisation, rehabilitation and maintenance projects nationwide.
The Lawmakers also implored the President Tinubu led Government to discard the Narrow Gauge Rail which they described as now obsolete and upgrade the Eastern Rail Line (traversing Port Harcourt to Maiduguri) from Narrow Gauge Rail to Standard Gauge Rail.
The above and other resolutions were reached following a motion titled “Urgent Need to upgrade the Eastern Rail Line (Traversing Port Harcourt-Enugu- Maiduguri) from Narrow Gauge Rail to Standard Gauge Rail” was sponsored by Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) and thirty four other Senators at the plenary on Wednesday.
Delivering his lead debate , Umeh harped on the importance of the Eastern Rail Line saying that the Region’s Rail Line serves 4 Geopolitical Zones of South South, South Fast, North Central and North East, runs from Port Harcourt to Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos to Bauchi, and Maiduguri ls the Longest and one of the Oldest Rail Lines in Nigeria;
Urging the Senate to support the motion Umeh notified that the Federal Government is missing a huge amount of revenue by excluding the Eastern Line in the ongoing Railways infrastructure construction.
Convincing his colleagues further the South-East Lawmaker highlighted the benefits of including the South-East region stressing that the infrastructure will enhance sustainable socio economic relationships across the country, and also promote National Integration, and ultimately boost the Economy and give a sense of belonging to all.
The Senator reminded the Senate that the Federal Government conceived the idea in 2017 to modernise and standardise the Nigerian Railway System by building Standard Gauge Rail Lines and the acquisition of Modern Coaches both for passenger movement and goods across the country.
To finance the project Umeh revealed that the Federal Government borrowed a loan sum of $68 Billion (US Dollars) in 2017. According to Umeh almost all the above-mentioned Rall Lines have been completed or nearing completion and operational with new Coaches. He also pointed out that Port Harcourt to Maiduguri Line is the only Narrow Gauge Rail Line in Nigeria.
Furthermore Umeh said that in April 2022 the Federal Government awarded a failed contract sum of $3.2 Billion of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of a Narrow Gauge Rail Line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri which has been vandalized, abandoned and overgrown with weeds and trees thereby jettisoning the Standard Gauge Rail Line.
Unfortunately, Umeh said that not only that the project failed, but the Chinese contractors partnering with the Federal Government on the project who were expected to provide 85% of the expected funding program abandoned the Project without injecting any funds.
He said: “The Federal Government should as a matter of necessity, national interest and the resultant anxiety of excluding the 4 Geopolitical Zones which the Eastern Rail Line covers, maintain a common Developmental Programme for the country by taking immediate steps to build Standard Gauge Rail Line free Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
“The Federal Government should consider involving Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to ensure that modernization and standardization of the Eastern Rail Line is achieved.
The continued marginalisation of the South-East was bemoaned by Senator Abaribe Enyinnaya ( Abia South). The Senator blamed the previous administration of ignoring the infrastructural plight of the South-East region.
He said: “One major problem is that no transport Minister has been able to give a reason why only the South-eastern region has been ignored and sentenced to oblivion from the Modernization of railways built by colonial Masters.
“When I confronted the former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, he couldn’t answer. All he said is that they were just Modernising. How do you Modernise a Narrow gauge by bringing another Narrow Gauge?? We now have a new Government that can take a look again.
“All we want is equity. You can’t have a Narrow Gauge in the Eastern part and a standard Gauge in other parts. You can’t go back and say you’re building a new Rail Line from Lagos to Calabar and of course cross this particular one because you can’t move Coaches from one point to the other.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) in his contribution urged the Federal Government to discard the Narrow Gauge stressing that it is now obsolete.
He said; The Narrow Gauge is extinct and it’s no longer in vogue. Countries in the entire world no longer construct the Narrow Gauge. Even the standard Gauge is gradually getting moribund because other superior gauges have come into play. On the Narrow Gauge it will take you 48 hours to travel from Port Harcourt- Maiduguri to Gombe, while on the Standard Gauge it will take 12 to 13 hours, while on the speed gauge it will only take 2 hours.
“This particular Eastern Rail Line is probably the oldest if not the oldest and it seems that there’s no political will but we see other areas constructed with the standard Gauge. It’s not because I come from Bauchi state, it’s because we are one nation. The communities along these areas are sidelined and feel like second class citizens of Nigeria. There must be equity in the construction of infrastructure across the country.
Following the support received by the motion the Red Chamber further asked the Presidency to halt the purported planned Rehabilitation of the outdated Narrow Gauge Rail to Standard Gauge Rail. The Senators further urged the Federal Government to make Arrangements for Proper Funding of the Construct Standard Gauge Rail in the Eastern Rail Line and Acquisition of Modern Coaches and directed its Senate Committee on Land Transport to ensure that all the 4 Geopolitical zones within the Eastern Rail Line Corridor benefit from the ongoing Railways Standardisation and Modernisation Programme of the Federal Government.