Dr Uche Diala
The Port Harcourt-Aba rail line has reportedly re-commenced operations after years of neglect by successive administrations pre-2015.
This must surely be very welcome news to the thousands of Nigerians who commute to and from the oil city of Port Harcourt and the Enyimba city of Aba daily.
The original railway in Aba was established in 1915 to connect the commercial city of Aba in today’s Abia state with Port Harcourt city in today’s Rivers state.
The 62.0km Port Harcourt – Aba rail line is a critical part of the longer 2044.1km Port Harcourt – Maiduguri narrow guage rail line project which will connect Rivers, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno states by rail.
In March 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari launched the $3.2 billion rehabilitation and reconstruction of Port Harcourt – Maiduguri eastern narrow gauge railway project, Bonny Deep Sea Port and the Railway Industrial Park, Port Harcourt to be executed with federal government’s 15% counterpart funding and 85% loan. Construction work eventually began in March 2022 from the Port Harcourt end.
On December 29th 2023, CCECC announced that it had completed the track laying from Port Harcourt to Aba.
On April 30, 2024, the Minister for Transportation, Senator Said Alkali heralded the commencement of commercial services on the Port Harcourt to Aba corridor.
As I proudly celebrate this historic and positive milestone, I cannot help but remember the intensity of attacks and abuses that their excellencies, Rotimi Amaechi and former President Muhammadu Buhari received because of this Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail line.
I equally remember the many articles I wrote explaining narrow and standard quage lines and why that project should be accepted, supported and appreciated, to a largely sceptical and hostile audience
As all doubts have now been laid to rest and many mouths that spoke bad are now silent or speaking differently, I cannot in good conscience fail to sincerely commend and appreciate HE Muhammadu Buhari, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and HE Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Former Minister for Transportation for their foresight, clarity of idea and political will to confront this long neglected project as well many other issues and projects; completed or ongoing.
I equally sincerely and respectfully appreciate HE President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and pray that he will continue to build on these and the many other achievements of and foundations laid by President Buhari.
These are monumental and legacy achievements of the APC in Nigeria for Nigerians.
Any attempt to denigrate the person of former President Muhammadu Buhari or to deny those verified achievements of the Buhari Administration would be naive, futile and counterproductive to the Tinubu administration, and the APC as a political party.
It would be immoral, dishonorable, irresponsible and self defeatist politics.
I sincerely hope and pray that all appointees of our current APC administration under the Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaban Borgu as well as all well meaning APC members, progressives and supporters of the President understand these and be properly guided.
We shall continue to support the Tinubu administration as it continues work on the Calabar-Enugu-Abuja rail line; Ibadan to Abuja and Abuja-Kano which are part of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge rail line as well as the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi rail line among others, all of which were initiated by the last administration and at various stages of progress as well as in his other programs, policies and projects.
God Bless The Federal Republic of Nigeria.
