The Managing Director and CEO of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa, has highlighted the crucial role of the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) in the Federal Government’s vision to rehabilitate, expand and optimize the country’s railway infrastructure.
He spoke yesterday during a working visit by the leadership of the SEDC to the NRC Headquarters in Lagos.
It was the first formal engagement between the NRC and any of the regional commissions established by President Bola Tinubu as part of efforts to ensure the even development of all zones in the country.
Opeifa observed that the visit by the SEDC Managing Director Mr Mark Okoye, and the Southwest Director on the Commission, Mrs Adejoke Adebayo Chukwumah, underscored the priority attention the SEDC attached to rail development in the region.
He said the NRC has historically been at the heart of Nigeria’s economic growth, tracing it back to the colonial era when the first rail lines were built to facilitate trade and commerce.
He stressed that the government is prioritizing the rehabilitation and expansion of narrow gauge railway networks to enhance mobility, reduce the cost of transporting goods, and improve economic productivity.
He said: “While Nigeria developed 3,500 kilometres of rail lines in our first 60 years post- independence, the Federal Government successfully constructed over 1,000 kilometres of new or refurbished rail lines in the past decade, marking a significant milestone in railway development.”
He further noted that revitalizing the railway sector would lead to a significant reduction in the cost of goods, benefiting businesses and consumers alike.
He said rehabilitation of the eastern corridor railway line would restore connectivity between key cities in the southeast and other parts of the country.
