S’East NASS member seek shift of rail attention to S’South-N’East corridor
Top National Assembly members from the South East have started agitation for shift of standard rail development attention to the South-South-North East corridor considering its negligence in the first term of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The lawmakers argued in separate presentations that throughout the first term of Buhari, attention on standard rail development focused specifically between Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan to North Central-West and even extending to Niger Republic from Katsina State.
However, as the formation of cabinet which translates to effective takeoff of governance gears up sooner, the South East lawmakers seek shift of the attention of whoever will become the Minister of Transportation to begin rail development from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri corridor.
Firing the first shot during the screening of Ministers at the Senate Chambers, Senate Minority leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abairbe (Abia State), harped on replicating rail development in eastern corridor.
He made it clear that the rail development that is good for the South West to North West and Central is also good for South-South, South-East and North East.
Senator Abaribe pointed out that during the process, rail line could be extended from Agbor to Onitsha so as to establish a direct rail access from the South East to Abuja via Onitsha-Agbor corridor.
He argued that just as Lagos to Ibadan rail line, there should be in place, Port Harcourt to Enugu before the end of this government at least.
Abaribe made it clear that consolidating rail development only from Lagos-Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano-Katsina and even to Niger Republic, when the Eastern corridor is left unattended to amounts to clear marginalization which cannot stand.
