Committee expresses concern over slow pace of railway projects across Nigeria
BY OBUTE JAMES
The Joint Committee of Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives on Land Transport has called for improved security measures at the railway stations.
The Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport made the call on Thursday 4th November, 2021 during the Budget Defence of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC and Nigerian Institute for Transport Technology, NITT, Zaria.
While presiding over the joint committee, Chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Dr. Abbas Tajudeen, PhD said selling of tickets online by NRC is a welcome development but the corporation should ensure ‘touts’ did not take over the process and compromise the security at railway stations.
representive of Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State
Tajudeen said despite selling tickets online, some people still sell the tickets at the railway stations at an exorbitant prices to travellers.
He said tickets being sold at the railway stations by ‘touts’ normally bear different names.
Dr Tajudeen said that henceforth, every ticket must bear the name of the traveller. He insisted that the name on the ticket must correspond with the identity card of the traveller for security reasons.
On the 2021 budget performance and 2022 budget proposal, Tajudeen told the heads of the agencies that the committee will carefully scrutinize the documents submitted and call them when necessary.
Committee expresses concern over slow pace of railway projects across Nigeria
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Transportation, Senator Danjuma Goje has expressed concern over railway projects across the country.
The lawmaker, during the Budget Defence of the Ministry of Transport, earlier on Thursday said the lawmakers are worried that if Lagos-Ibadan railway project would take the ministry 6 years to complete, how long will it take the ministry to construct and complete, a railway project like Ibadan-Maiduguri, Lagos to Calabar among others.
Though the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi said if the fund is available, the projects will be completed on time, he did not give time frame when such projects will be completed.