Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Rail Line Can’t Be Ready Before We Leave Office – Buhari Govt

The federal government on Wednesday conceded that it can’t complete the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri eastern rail line before the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari ends in May 2023.

The Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo gave the update while fielding questions from newsmen after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Sambo was questioned on what is causing the delay in the completion of the railway project as promised by the current administration when he gave the update.

According to him, the inability to secure foreign loans that will make 85 percent of the funds needed to execute the project available is responsible for the non-completion of the work as promised to Nigerians.

He added that the part of the project that is already implemented was financed through budgetary allocation.

The minister said: “The truth of the matter is that if there was a promise to deliver this line before the end of this administration, this promise is no longer feasible.

“When the contract was approved, it was approved on the premise that 85 percent will be funded through foreign loan, while 15 per cent will be the counterpart funding for the national budget.

“Since that approval, we have not been able to obtain that 85 percent foreign loan for this project.

“We have been funding it through the national budget on the bases of the 15 percent counterpart funding of the Federal Government.

“Therefore, funding has been a major challenge for this project.”

The groundbreaking ceremony for the $1.96 billion rail project was performed by President Muhammadu Buhari two years ago.

The rail is expected to pass through 14 states which are Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Rivers, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, and Gombe.