Nigerians hoping to enjoy the full services of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line may have to wait a little longer as the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi says there are some setbacks and the completion of the project by April is no longer feasible.
Amaechi disclosed this on Monday during an interview with Channels Television after a routine inspection of the rail line.
He was accompanied by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and the Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki during the routine inspection of the project.
According to the Minister, the project has reached 85% stage of completion but the remaining 15% is still huge and the contractors need to extend the progress recorded to the major stations.
“The project is 85% completed but the 15% remaining is actually huge. It is not just an ordinary 15%. Until the progress is extended to Ebute-Metta and Apapa, I will disagree with the 15% they said is remaining.
“From Ebute-Metta to Ibadan, extensive work has been done. They promised that minor stations will be ready but what about the major stations. There are about four major stations which include Ebute Metta, Apapa, Abeokuta, and Ibadan. The remaining eight or nine minor stations, they claim will be ready before April,” Amaechi said.
The Minister also gave updates on the inspection on his Twitter handle. He further expressed doubt about the possibility of completing the project in April as earlier planned.
“Looking at the state of work in Apapa, completing the project in April doesn’t seem feasible, especially the extension of the rail line to the seaport. We’ll, however, continue to work and redouble our efforts to complete the project and meet set targets. #LagosIbadanRail,” he tweeted.
Today, Oyo State Governor, @seyimakinde is accompanying us on the monthly inspection of work on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line. We are going the whole nine yards. From the mega station in Ebute Metta to Apapa and all the way to Ibadan. A large chunk of this rail line is in Oyo State. pic.twitter.com/TKpiO52Lak
— Chibuike.R. Amaechi (@ChibuikeAmaechi) January 20, 2020
The Minister alongside the top officials had earlier kicked off the assessment from Ebute Meta to Apapa where the Federal Government hopes to decongest the traffic at the Lagos Port by extending the rail project to that axis.
They also inspected the Iju station of the 157 kilometers project – from Fagba area of Lagos to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
