Following the disturbing incidence of ticket racketeering at the Abuja- Kaduna train station, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has ordered the immediate sack of officials found culpable.
Specifically, Amaechi directed the Managing Director Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) Fidet Okhiria, to wield the big stick, in a bid to sanitise the ticketing process.
The minister gave the order on Friday in Abuja at the annual ministerial press briefing on landmark programmes, project and activities of the ministry and it’s agencies in the year 2020.
Amaechi said the buying of multiple tickets and hoarding them to resell would not have been possible without active connivance of the rail way staff.
“You must match the ticket with the face carrying it so that we don’t fall into security problems,” he said.
The minister announced that the national transportation policy will be ready before the end of this year.
He said, “there is a committee working on the transport policy and we are having conversations with the office of the Vice President. In attendance is myself, the Minister of State for Transport, Minister of Works, Minister of Finance and it is being chaired by the Vice President. We intend to come up with the transport policy before the year runs out”.
“Anything we would want to write about the Draft National Maritime Policy will be embedded in the National Transport Policy.
“If at all we write anything on it, it will not be submitted because it is already an offshoot of the National Transport Policy. The same with the National Road Transport policy, the Minister of State came with a detailed National Road Transport Policy which will be a part of the National Transport Policy,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Amaechi has reeled out the ministry’s landmark projects and programmes, to demonstrate his resolve to meet expectations.
He listed some of the projects to include: “Procurement and reception of seven new SG Coaches commissioned last year for train service on Itakpe-Warri line. Received six new Standard gauge locomotives, nine freight locomotives, two Diesel shunters, DMU and 44 coaches;
“Procured two pairs of overhead Cranes for workshops, 50 tons capacity re-railing Jacks, two battery-powered shunter for Narrow-bauge line.
“Upgrade and modernisation of communication and signaling system, rehabilitated 41km of road network, 50 culverts and maintenance of track infrastructure, and 34 bridges among others”.
The minister added that , “The ministry is committed to pursuing the 25-year Strategic Plan to logical conclusion, although so much time has been lost by previous administrations. The ministry will rejig the Strategic Vision to align with the plan of the ongoing agenda 2050”.
