Charges Firm to complete unfinished Railway Segments
Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has paid a visit to Beijing headquarters of the firm in charge of Nigeria’s railway project, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).
As disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu met with the Chinese firm hours prior to his meeting with President Xi Jinping.
While assuring the firm of Nigeria’s support of its investment in solid minerals, Tinubu charged the firm to complete the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Railway segment.
“It is equally very important that we give assurances to the Nigerian people across our local communities that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway segments will be completed and done to the satisfaction of Nigeria and West Africa at large.
”We will support your investment in solid minerals and other ventures in Nigeria. I am here to assure you that Nigeria is ready to do business with you,” Tinubu said.
In reaction, CRCC’s chairman, Dai Hegen, assured the Nigerian President of the company’s commitment to the project as he recalled their age long relationship with Nigeria.
Mr. Hegen conveyed to the President that for the past 43 years, CRCC has been actively engaged in Nigeria, successfully executing more than 300 projects and providing training to over 100,000 local workers.
”The Abuja-Kaduna Railway and Lagos-Ibadan Railway have transported approximately 9 million passengers and 180 tonnes of cargo. The Lagos blue line has transported over 1.6 million passengers.'” He said.