Determined to ensure fast evacuation of cargoes and easy access to TinCan Island port, President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that Lagos-Ibadan-Kano rail line will be connected to the port in Lagos.
Buhari said this on Thursday, while inaugurating the commercial operations of Lagos-Ibadan railway project at the Mobolaji Johnson Railway Station, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
He explained that the Ibadan-Kano project will connect the TinCan port as well as the West-East Coastal rail line from Lagos to Calabar, linking Onitsha, Benin, Warri, Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, Aba and Uyo.
According to him, the drive is aimed at revitalising the railway system and establishing it as a “choice mode of transportation for both passengers and freight.”
The President said his administration will continue to prioritise the railway system as a transportation backbone that can transform industrial and economic activity in the country.
“This vital line establishes an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport within its short corridor, Lagos – Ibadan, as goods to the hinterland will now be transported by rail directly from the Apapa port quayside straight to the Inland Container Depot located in Ibadan, from where it can be distributed to other parts of the country.
“The Lagos – Kano railway project, when completed, will link the Kano – Maradi line at Kano and a rail link from the Nigerian southern ports of Lagos to Maradi in Niger Republic will be achieved. The connection through rail would position Nigerian ports as the choice for import and export business of the people of landlocked Niger Republic,” he explained.
According to Buhari, the rail connection will boost the economy through employment generation from new business opportunities and wealth creation.
He expressed delight that his directive to the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Finance, on reaching financial agreements with appropriate co-financiers to partner with the Federal Government for the development of the Ibadan – Kano railway, was yielding results.
“From the beginning of this administration, railway infrastructure development has been given the priority it deserves and various milestones have been reached, right from when the Abuja – Kaduna railway was flagged-off for commercial operation in 2016, to this Lagos – Ibadan railway project being commissioned today for full commercial operation.”
Shortly after he inaugurated the project, the President took a ride from Ebute Metta Station to Energy Nature Light Terminal, Apapa Port, to commission the Deep Blue project.
