Ahead of the proposed concession of the Nigeria Railway
projects to General Electric (GE), the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi yesterday met with railway workers assuring them of safety of their
jobs.
The Minister also said the government had not concluded
talks on the concession as workers would be carried along in the process.
Amaechi who spoke at the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC)
compound during a meeting with the workers as well as inspection of the ongoing
construction work of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge line said General Electric
planned to bring 20 locomotives, 200 wagons and establish a University of
Transport.
It would be recalled that a consortium led by General
Electric (GE.N) submitted the only bid for a Nigerian railway concession
project worth around $2 billion for two lines connecting northern cities to
others in the south.
The concession will cover about 3,500 km (2,200 miles) of
existing narrow-gauge lines from the southwestern commercial capital, Lagos, to
Kano in the north, and southeastern oil hub Port Harcourt to Maiduguri in the
northeast.
The Transport University, Amaechi said, would have a Faculty
of Railway which would specialize in Railway engineering with a view to
broadening the skills of railway workers.
As part of the ongoing negotiations with the GE, the
Minister pointed out that the concessionaire showed more interest in cargoes
hence its decision to bring in the 200 wagons which would aid massive freight
movements from north to the south thereby reducing the pressure on Nigerian
roads.
Over 10,000 Railway workers under the aegis of Nigeria Union
of Railway Workers (NUR) and the Senior Staff Association of Railway Workers
(SSA) had said government cannot concession the railway without addressing the
issue of workers welfare.
By Abdullateef Aliyu
