Reps Raises Concern Over Railway Corporation’s Low Revenue, Alleges Ticket Racketeering

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voiced concern over the Nigerian Railway Corporation’s (NRC) poor earnings.

Naija News reports that this came to light when the Office of the Accountant General for the Federation said that the NRC only remitted N345 million in income for the fiscal year 2023, with remittances spanning from January to September.

During Wednesday’s interactive session in Abuja for the 2024–2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), the House of Representatives Committee on Finance headed by Hon James Faleke, heard remarks made by Fidet Okhiria, the Managing Director of the National Research Council.

Faleke had claimed in his address to the NRC MD that social media footage demonstrated their employees’ involvement in ticket hawking.

In response to inquiries from the committee chaired by James Faleke, Okhiria acknowledged that NRC employees had engaged in ticket racketeering, which resulted in revenue losses.

“This is true, and the solution to that is e-ticketing, and the government has approved that,” Okhiria said.

But he claimed those who committed more minor offences had been demoted, and the culprits with serious offences had been fired.

Faleke, however, expressed reservations about the revenue received, stating that something needs to be fixed if the nation is expecting a significant amount of money from NRC.