Five months ultimatum on Lagos-Ibadan Railway project
Rotimi Amaechi, Nigerian Minister of Transportation, on Saturday, issued a five month ultimatum to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, handling the ongoing extension of the Lagos-Ibadan railway projects extension to ensure the completion of the project by January 1, 2021. The Minister gave the directive at the weekend during inspection of ongoing projects along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor.
Joined by the Minister of Information, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Amaechi urged the contractors to work tirelessly as no excuse for failure would be accepted. The Minister also expressed delight at the level of work done at both the Agege and Agbado sub-stations, even as he warned the contractor to put emphasis on timeliness and quality.
“You have from now till January 1, 2021 to deliver this project. By the time we come here again, we would like to see everything almost done,” Amaechi charged the contractors. An elated Lai Mohammed tasked those in the habit of asking federal government to justify its spendings to visit the sites of ongoing projects to see things for themselves.
“Those who are asking where we are burning the money can now see where the money is. We made a promise to Nigerians and this is one of the manifestations of what we have been able to do.
“I think it is important to inform Nigerians that there is nothing wrong with borrowing. What is important is the use the money borrowed is used for. We borrowed to fund capital projects, not recurrent expenditure,” he said even as he made a light joke of the luxury available in the newly procured eight coaches deployed for the Lagos/Ibadan axis.
“There is a difference between the train that brought us from Apapa and this one that is taking us to Ibadan,” he added, shortly after the two Ministers and members of their respective entourage took a ride in the newly acquired coaches from Agege to Ibadan.
Meanwhile, contrary to the criticism against the federal government’s new request for infrastructure loan from China, Lai Mohammed has said that the ongoing work at various stations on the 158km rail line from Lagos to Ibadan is enough proof that the loan was not taken for services and recurrent expenditure but for infrastructure building.
