Deepening national rail system to connect all states of the federation and lifting the fortunes of workers of Nigeria’s oldest enterprise remain the focus of the new Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) management, new Managing Director Dr Kayode Opeifa has said.
Opeifa who spoke at the reception organised for him at the Boardroom of the NRC headquarters, Ebute Meta, said his focus would be “efficiency, safety and customer satisfaction, that is driven by passion and excellence.”
Opeifa was accompanied by seasoned politicians, from across the state,.among who were Alhaji Fouad Oki, former Deputy Governor and Senior Special Advisor to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, former lawmaker, Dr Babatunde Adejare, AIG, Hakeem Olusegun Odumosu, (rtd), Alhaji Abdullahi Enilolobo, former Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abiodun Ladega, and the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor, Hon. Sola Giwa.
Others are traditional chiefs from Agege and Orile-Agege, members of the School of Transport and Logistics, led by Prof. Charles Asenime, and Dr Ayodele Asaju, close family members and other top party faithful.
He said: “I am reminded of the critical role the Nigerian Railway Corporation plays in driving economic growth, promoting national integration, and improving the lives of Nigerians. We will, together, work tirelessly to ensure that the corporation achieved its mandate and exceed expectations.”
He said him, the NRC, working through the Ministry of Transportation will prioritize the security of lives and properties, modernise and expand rail infrastructure and the present and introduce new technologies to improve efficiency and safety, and increase rail connectivity.
Other areas of focus of the corporation under his leadership would be improving customer experience, capacity building, deepened relationship, and accelerated project completion. He will also, look towards enhancing private sector participation that would see to boosting railway contribution to the GDP, which he hoped to push to about 6 per cent from the about 3 percent year-on-year.
He urged the two workers unions- the National Union of Railway Workers (NUR) and Senior Staff Association (SESAR) to shelve their proposed protest not only because of his strong commitment as a human rights activist, but also because of his commitment to union relations, but because he is poised to prioritize staff welfare and better living and working condition.
“We will work together to ensure the smooth inter and multimodality of the mobility systems in Nigeria as the rail sector is set to take the centre stage in the mobility sector of the country,” he further stated.
Working with several other agencies of the Federal Government, the Corporation would open up several of its many workshops and training centers for the purpose of job creation and skill acquisition, thereby relieving the government of the worrying rate of unemployment in the country.
He thanked his mentor, benefactor, political leader President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for counting him worthy of the honour for the appointment, adding that he will ensure transparency accountability and inclusivity in decision making processes.
Earlier, the Director Corporate Services, Dr James Zang, in his handing over notes, praised the President for appointing a versatile transportation expert and former member of the Board of the NRC as the pointman of the corporation.
Zang, who was acting on behalf of the Acting Managing Director Ben Iloanusi, said the corporation is looking forward to facing new challenges and winning together with the new Managing Director.
In their words of goodwill, the SSA to the President on SDG, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire urged the workers to cooperate with the new MD in order to sustain the gains of the corporation and to achieve the visions of the Tinubu administration for rail modernisation as encapsulated in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
She described Opeifa as a versatile mobility expert and said she looked forward to the many milestones that the frontline corporation will win under his leadership.
Also speaking, Hon. Babatunde Adejare, thanked God and the President for the choice of his old roommate at the University, urged the new Managing Director to sustain the visions of the Tinubu administration and work at interpreting this vision at the corporation.
He urged him not to toy with the Nigerian Railway Properties and stop all forms of encroachment on the railway lands. “What we have on ground is not even enough to accommodate all that needed to be done for the railway so no one should assume the corporation has more than enough land at its disposal.”