Lagos-Ibadan Rail project may not be ready by April….. Ameachi not happy

January 22 04:28 2020 by The Ajasa News Print This Article

By Martin Odiete, Abuja

The Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi is definitely not a happy man with the discovering that he may not be delivering on the promise that the Lagos-Ibadan Rail project would be ready by April, but is moving swiftly to remove any stumbling block that is causing the delay.

The Minister had said last December that the Lagos-Ibadan Rail project should be completed by April this year, but after the last inspection, the Minister seem to be realizing that the contractors were economical with the truth.

Ameachi told journalist that the progress of the project was a mixed-bag as there was significant progress of work done in some stations, while others had not.

“It is a mixed bag, talking of the progress of the work.  In some stations, you were impressed and others you were not. At least, you were impressed with Omi-Adio. 

The last time we came here, we had to suspend work because they were using what they referred to as stone dust. Now, that has changed.  Not much happened at Abeaokuta station. 

“The worst was from Ebute Meta to Apapa. That is painful.  That will be the focus henceforth.  All sorts of excuses. I have asked to meet with the Management of NPA on Thursday or Friday to resolve those issues.

“Again, the second excuse they have is that of their vessels at the seaport. They say they can’t even berth, because of the long queue and the crisis of congestion.  So, we will address it when we meet with NPA, to see how they can come forward, because we really need to complete this work as soon as possible,” the honourable minister said.

Speaking on the completion time for the project, the minister said, “When you ask the contractors, they still tell you the April/May period for completion is real, but I can’t answer that question considering what we are seeing.  Let me not continue to give you date, then getting to that date, we are not there.

“They are being political. When you ask when the stations will be completed, they say “Minor stations April, they won’t talk about major stations. For the level of work done, in terms of tracks, I will say 100 per cent, apart from Ebute Meta, he concluded “