ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The newly appointed Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa, says the Enugu-Port Harcourt railway project is already receiving attention as one of the top priority projects of the Federal Government.
He assured that the project had been getting a fair share of the national budget.
The MD also commended Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for his transformational initiatives, noting that the governor’s investment in infrastructure was already rubbing off on the people’s standard of living.
Opeifa, who stated these when he led a delegation of senior Management team of the NRC on a working visit to the Government House, Enugu, on Thursday, explained that he was in the state to reaffirm Management’s commitment to fostering cooperation with the state government in areas of mutual interest.
He pledged continuous synergy with the state to revamp the Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu rail line on the Eastern Corridor since there were increasing demands for it by the people, who were mostly into business and trading.
“The whole essence of this visit is to deepen our relationship and collaboration with the state government under the administration of Governor Peter Mbah. I also want you to know that the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Enugu City shared a common history,” he added.
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He further said that Enugu under Mbah was doing what the Corporation was watching out for in terms of the enabling infrastructure such as the transport terminals that the Corporation was poised to take advantage of.
“Enugu State is doing what the Nigerian Railway is looking forth to. The building of road transport terminals by the administration is what we are trying to take advantage of in our railway corridors. I came to discuss about it. The discussion has been on. So I only came to affirm it.
“I have eyes, I can see. I have ears, I can hear. So, when I entered this city, I see myself the difference this administration is making. I can hear from those who live here for longer.
“Seriously speaking, this is a different kind of government. He is a business man. He knows what he wants and he doesn’t see obstacles or challenges. He just faces what he wants to do and that is why you can see him achieving all these.
“Meanwhile, he told me that what we call much is actually that little, saying that many, many more will come and I believe him,” Opeifa noted.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu had already issued a directive to the Corporation to fashion out mutual relationship with the state and work out initiatives that would engender a seamless transportation for economic prosperity.
While enjoining the state to take advantage of the Eastern Line, once completed, the MD further appealed to the governor to strengthen security around their assets, which had come under vandalism by notorious scraps dealers.
On his part, governor Mbah said that Enugu had an inextricable history with the NRC dating back to the discovery of coal and the subsequent shipping of the coal to Port Harcourt in 1918, using the rail transport.
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He expressed delight over the efforts of the Management to revitalise the NRC and restore it to its glorious days, recalling that the revitalisation of the Eastern Railway Corridor was one of the demands made by South East leaders and also approved by President Bola Tinubu during his visit to Enugu earlier in the year.
He further explained that efforts were also in top gear by the state and other states in the region to create a common market, which required the provision of certain enablers such as seamless rail system to fast-track trades, revealing also the administration’s plan for an intra-rail system that would also link the major lines by the NRC.
He pledged to support the NRC’s clinic to function optimally and also protect the Corporation’s facilities against acts of vandalisation and encroachment.