The new leadership of Nigerian National Assembly
should immediately revive and accelerate the passage of the Nigerian railway
law reform bill which seeks to amend the outdated 1955 law establishing and
regulating the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
A continental railway advocacy group, African Railway Roundtable made the call
on Sunday even as it called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately
commence the construction of Kano-Kaduna railway line. The statement was signed
by its Chief Operating Officer, Segun Olanjorin.
The group called attention of the 9th assembly lawmakers to the Railway bill
which was already passed by the last Senate but was not treated by the House of
Representatives before the expiration of its tenure.The bill in question has
been in the National Aseembly since 2016 and its non-passage is identified as
one of the main impediment to smooth expansion and modernisation of Nigerian
railway system.
“The bill seeks to separate the operator from the regulator of the sector
while also opening up the sector to private sector investment. The bill allows
for concessioning and outright private railroad under the regulation of the
regulator. The bill in our view is the best way out of financial and funding
challenges plaguing the rail industry.
“Nigeria has borrowed so much and this has become very unsustainable. Passing
the bill into law now will energise the railway sector and put it on a strong
footing at par with international best practice. We urge House Speaker Femi
Gbajabiamila and the Senate President Ahmed Lawan to officially revive the
bill. Nigeria cannot wait any longer”, the statement noted.
The group equally urged the Nigerian government to commence the execution of
the proposed Kaduna-Kano rail line without further delay, tasking the
government to deploy similar vigour to the Kaduna-Kano project in the same way
it handled and fast-tracked the construction of Ibadan Lagos standard gauge
railway line.
“We start by commending President Muhammadu Buhari for reviving the
railway sector. It was not a mean feat. We are particularly impressed with the
almost completed Lagos -Ibadan Standard gauge. The economic viability of the
route makes it sustainable. It is now time to extend the new standard line to
Kano from Kaduna.
“Already, the Abuja -Kaduna line is about the most viable line currently. It
will be a big boom if Kaduna is now linked to Kano by rail. The patronage of
rail will triple and viability in term of economic returns will be assured. It
is therefore our considered view that commencing the project should be now and
completion should be within the life span of this administration”, the
statement noted.
While commending the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the
Federal Ministry of Transportation, the African group affirmed that “the
Buhari presidency is the golden age of railway in Nigeria, urging an even more
ambitious push in term of trans-national railway line.
“We are of the view that Nigeria should craft a trans-national railway
agenda to link Adamawa to Cameroon,Lagos to Benin republic, Oyo State to Benin
republic, Borno to Chad, Cross River to Cameroon and Katsina to Niger Republic”,
the group noted in the statement
