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| Amaechi, El-Rufai, and Bello at the event |
By Mayowa Okekale, Abuja
Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai and the Minister of
transportation, Rotimi Amaechi today converged on the city of Kaduna to
inspect some facilities at the Kaduna Inland Dry Port, the first Dry
Port in Nigeria.
transportation, Rotimi Amaechi today converged on the city of Kaduna to
inspect some facilities at the Kaduna Inland Dry Port, the first Dry
Port in Nigeria.
Governor El-Rufai during the inspection tour, admitted that the project was
inherited from the past administration and the current government is
doing everything possible to make it work. He said: “We inherited this
project from the previous administration and we thought it was a
worthwhile project worthy of support, and this is why we did everything
we could to make sure it works.”
inherited from the past administration and the current government is
doing everything possible to make it work. He said: “We inherited this
project from the previous administration and we thought it was a
worthwhile project worthy of support, and this is why we did everything
we could to make sure it works.”
Mr El-Rufai
promised that the government will do the needful to ensure that the
infrastructure that is required to make it a reality is done. He said
“we inherited PDP contractors, some of the quality is not what we want
but I want to assure you all that we are going to fix it, adding that
“the road will be reconstructed with concrete pavement”
promised that the government will do the needful to ensure that the
infrastructure that is required to make it a reality is done. He said
“we inherited PDP contractors, some of the quality is not what we want
but I want to assure you all that we are going to fix it, adding that
“the road will be reconstructed with concrete pavement”
“We
have also realized that we don’t want to replicate the problem of Apapa
port because it only has one exit and one entry, so we will have an
alternative to that, we want to make this work because this is all about
jobs.
have also realized that we don’t want to replicate the problem of Apapa
port because it only has one exit and one entry, so we will have an
alternative to that, we want to make this work because this is all about
jobs.
He
lamented that 85 per cent of the population of Kaduna State youth are
unemployed and appealed to the contractors to make the best use of the
facility, adding that the Kaduna State government will be a partner and
will direct all the companies the state government is attracting to
Kaduna to use this facilities.
lamented that 85 per cent of the population of Kaduna State youth are
unemployed and appealed to the contractors to make the best use of the
facility, adding that the Kaduna State government will be a partner and
will direct all the companies the state government is attracting to
Kaduna to use this facilities.
According to him: “My
only appeal to you is to please use local people. Don’t import people
from other states because Kaduna has talents. We have young people here
and we expect you to give preference to them.”
only appeal to you is to please use local people. Don’t import people
from other states because Kaduna has talents. We have young people here
and we expect you to give preference to them.”
While
bemoaning the state of Nigeria as the only country in the world that
lift less than 25 percent of its total freight traffic through the rail
system, Mr El-Rufai said “it’s a disgrace”.
bemoaning the state of Nigeria as the only country in the world that
lift less than 25 percent of its total freight traffic through the rail
system, Mr El-Rufai said “it’s a disgrace”.
He
commended the Minister of Transport, saying, “he has put his
energy as a minister into the project and I’m sure we will be where we
should be which is at least 22 percent of the the freight traffic should
be on the rail system soon, and once that happens, Kaduna Junction,
which used to be the centre of rail transportation in Nigeria, will come
alive.
commended the Minister of Transport, saying, “he has put his
energy as a minister into the project and I’m sure we will be where we
should be which is at least 22 percent of the the freight traffic should
be on the rail system soon, and once that happens, Kaduna Junction,
which used to be the centre of rail transportation in Nigeria, will come
alive.
Mr Amaechi,
speaking earlier, remarked that “the current administration with this
project is doing everything possible to create jobs” and promised that
the rail line will start running before the end of this year. He added
that “Once we get our rail system operating and moving lots of our freight traffic then we will experience economic boost”.
speaking earlier, remarked that “the current administration with this
project is doing everything possible to create jobs” and promised that
the rail line will start running before the end of this year. He added
that “Once we get our rail system operating and moving lots of our freight traffic then we will experience economic boost”.
Also
speaking, Secretary, Nigeria Shipper’s Council, Alhassan Bello, He
said that we have come on a supervision tour to ensure that everything
is working in the right order, adding that “we don’t want to repeat the
mistake we did at the sea port”.
speaking, Secretary, Nigeria Shipper’s Council, Alhassan Bello, He
said that we have come on a supervision tour to ensure that everything
is working in the right order, adding that “we don’t want to repeat the
mistake we did at the sea port”.
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