Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani-Bello has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the proposed light guage rail line linking Minna, the state capital with Abuja, the federal capital.
He made this passionate call after he took a train trip from Abuja to Kaduna, Kaduna State at the weekend.
The governor also made case for the reactivation of the Minna-Baro rail line, as work on the dredging of the Baro Inland Port are getting to completion, in order to ease evacuation of goods.
Impressed by the quality of service during the two-hour trip from Idu station in Abuja to Rigasa in Kaduna, the governor commended the foresight of the federal government in providing the train service from Abuja to Kaduna.
“The quality of service, the timeliness of movement of the train and the courtesy by the staff are reflections of the dream Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari envisioned. The train left promptly and arrived Kaduna on scheduled.
“The actualization of Abuja-Kaduna train service is an attestation to the resolve and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to fixing Nigeria.
“It is in the light of this that I wish to appeal to Mr. President, the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to see to the construction of the long proposed Minna-Abuja light rail line construction.
“Another critical rail route that we in Niger State will want federal government to attend to, is the reactivation of Minna-Baro line. This will go a long way to ease movement from the Baro Port to other hinterlands of northern Nigeria”.
