TheCable

The house of representatives has called for the completion of the Otukpo-Ajaokuta railway project started by the administration of ex-President Shehu Shagari.

It said the project should be included in the 2018 budget estimates.

The call was sequel to a motion titled ‘Need to complete Otukpo-Ajaokuta railway project’ introduced during plenary on Wednesday by Hassan Omale, from Kogi state.

The rail project, which runs from Otukpo in Benue state to Ajaokuta in Kogi state, is about 533km.

Omale said the project has been abandoned since then “even after the construction of the railway bridge from Itobe-Ajaokuta.”

“The house, aware that rail transportation is about the earliest, cheaper and faster means of moving people and good from one point to the other,” Omale said.

“And given that the people of the area are predominantly farmers, their produce would have been easily moved to the cities to earn revenues, boost economic activities and advance the diversification of the economy to agriculture.”

No deliberation was made after the motion was read as Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house, said the relevance is obvious considering the prolonged period it had lasted.

The house, therefore, resolved to call on the ministry of transportation to include the completion of the Otukpo-Ajaokuta railway project in the 2018 budget estimates.

It also mandated its committee on land transportation and appropriations to ensure implementation of the resolution.

Editor’s note: This picture was used for the purposes of illustration