TheCable

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, has requested security protection from the Nigerian Army for workers on rail projects that will begin soon.

Last week, Amaechi said the federal government will commence the Kaduna-Kano standard gauge rail project in July, pending loan approval by the national assembly.

While paying a courtesy visit to Farouk Yahaya, chief of army staff, in Abuja on Friday, he said the request became necessary due to the country’s security challenges.

According to NAN, the minister explained that the presence of military officers in various construction sites will boost the workers’ morale and give the expatriates a good sense of security.

He also requested that access through some military establishments — particularly the rail track linking Kaduna and Kano, which was designed to pass through the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) — be granted to the ministry.

Amaechi said the access will reduce the construction costs and enhance the development of the barracks’ environment.

The army chief commended the minister for the visit, adding that such activities provide an avenue for the army and other government agencies to deliberate on national development issues.

Yahaya assured the minister of the readiness of the army to provide the needed support for the successful execution of the rail projects across the country.

“It is pleasing to note what you have been able to do in the rail sector, especially the Abuja-Kaduna and Lagos-Ibadan lines, among others,” he said.

“We are willing and ready to provide security required to ensure the safety of the workers on the projects.”

The Kaduna-Kano rail line project is billed to start later this month, while works on Kano-Maradi and Maiduguri-Port Harcourt lines will begin in July.