Revitalisation of rail system will boost FG’s revenue

Johnson Agbonayinma, member representing Egor/Ikpoba Okha Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, has said the revitalisation of the nation’s railway system would boost the revenue base of the Federal Government.

BusinessDay reports that the PDP lawmaker made the remark in Benin City during an interview with the press.

Agbonayinma, who is the chairman, House of Representative ad-hoc committee investigating Federal Ministry of Transport, Nigeria Railway Corporation and SURE-P, said the House would do everything possible to ensure that the railway system was revitalised.

While noting that the investigation was not to witch-hunt anybody, he noted that when revitalised the Nigeria Railway would generate huge employment opportunities, revenue and affordable transport system.

“For me as a Nigerian and an House of Representatives member, I believe that we should do whatever it takes to see how the railway system can be brought to bear. The railway transportation system is one of the sub-sector that can bring huge revenue and economic benefit to the nation, employment generation to the youths and make transportation easier, instead of the bad state of roads characterised with heavy duty trucks that have resulted into deaths of millions of Nigerians,” he said.

The federal lawmaker, who was board member of the Nigeria Railway Corporation during the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration, posited that all efforts and modalities initiated to extend the railway system from Lagos to South South, South East and other geo-political zones came to nothing.

“When I was in the board of railway, we worked so hard to see how to have railway line constructed from Lagos through Benin City to Warri up to the East, from East to the North. We worked so hard to make sure that it was accomplished but unfortunately there was nothing to write home about. Even after doing the feasibility studies.

“We were hoping and happy that one day the railway line will pass through our various local governments and states. But today, do we have that? No. The railway you see in South Africa cannot be compared to the one we have in Nigeria. South Africa has gone far and we are still behind,” he stated.