"600km electrified Lagos-Ibadan rail track project will soon take off" - President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan at the weekend assured Nigerians that the contract for the speed train to connect Ibadan and Lagos had been awarded and the project would soon take off.

The president, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, gave the assurance at the ground-finale of the Press Play Empowerment seminar for university students held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

Jonathan, who spoke against the position of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO), that the 600km electrified rail track was a hoax, noted that the federal government was sincere about the project.

“I believe we are all aware that in the last 30 to 40 years, railway was not working in Nigeria, as I speak to you, Mr President has brought back 3500km of railway in Nigeria.

“You can travel today by rail from Lagos to Kano; Enugu to Porth-Harcourt to Makurdi, to Jos, to Bauchi and Gombe.

“In addition to that, we are adding new standard gauge railway lines and I am pleased to inform you that the new rail lines connecting Abuja to Kaduna has been 100 per cent completed.

“The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of coastal rail lines that will go from Lagos to Benin to Delta to Onitsha, to Bayelsa, to River State, to Akwa-Ibom up to Calabar has been signed.

“When we came in 2010, the total kilometers of roads in Nigeria was 35,000 kilometres owned by the federal government and only 5000 kilometres can be considered motor-able and that was why at that period, everywhere, Nigerians were crying for good roads.” Jonathan said.

Credit: Jaiyeola Andrews/ThisDay