In its quest to ensure that quality job is carried out on the on-going Lagos-Ibadan standard rail project, the Senate has directed the Federal Ministry of Transportation to submit a detailed work plan on the project.
The directive was given recently by the Senate joint committee on Local Local and Foreign Debts led by Shehu Sani and that of committee on Land Transport chaired by Gbenga Ashafa during an oversight/inspection visit of the two committees to the Lagos-Ibadan segment of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge rail (SGR) rail project.
In a meeting with the Chinese Civil Engineering and Civil Engineering Contractors (CCECC), handlers of the project, management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Shehu reiterated the need for all arms of government to be held accountable to the people and declared that to achieve this, all transparency and probity will be the over-riding factors.
According to him, ‘’I wish to request, on behalf of the two Committees, that the Federal Ministry of Transportation submit to the Secretariats of the Committee on Local and Foreign, and Land Transport, detailed work plan for this rail project, with feasible timelines for actualising the different stages of the work. This will be the basis upon which subsequent oversight visits will be made to monitor the progress of work being done’’.
Sani said the Senate was being cautious in granting approval to the borrowing plan with the China Exim Bank for the financing of the rail project, adding that the National Assembly would ensure effective utilization of the loan.
