The transformation agenda of President Jonathan especially in the Rail sector may have shown visible signs of realization following consistent efforts by the management of Nigeria Railway Corporation to surmount the hurdles inherent in the process in the South-East region. IFEANYI EZUGWU writes on the recent arrival of additional rehabilitation materials while highlighting some of the causes of the prolonged delay in revamping the tracks in the region.
Taken cognizance that no meaningful economic development of any nation will thrive in an atmosphere of ebbing infrastructure especially those that are critical to trigger the much needed economic progress, the Federal Government in its drive to transform the transport sector of the economy using Railway as a pivot in pursuance of the agenda, signed and awarded contracts for the rehabilitation of existing railway lines across the length and breath of the country in 2010.
It will be worthy to note that, Federal Government had in the past, awarded several rail rehabilitation contracts to foreign firms starting with the Indians in 1979, Chinese in 1999-2002, which never crystallized to any visible result hence the renewed efforts by the incumbent administration to get the tracks functional.
Contract 3 of the award, which spans from Port Harcourt-Makurdi, falls under the south-east region which was awarded to a Turkish firm, ESER West Africa limited which had a contract completion time-line of ten months as at 2010.
The eastern rail tracks which spans through Port Harcourt, Abia, Ebonyi, Makudi, Imo and Enugu, has since the inception of the contract award, been fraught with skirmishes, sabotage, shenanigans of unimaginable proportion thus portraying the people of the region as its own enemy even as there are verifiable underpinnings of outside vested interest throwing spanners in the wheels.
For instance, the Ballast stone which is a major component of the rehabilitation contract which is extracted from a railway quarry deposit at Ishiagu, Ivo community in Ebonyi State , is currently inaccessible for use by ESER following Ebonyi State government stance and activities of influence peddlers who have vested interests in the project.
Ballast Stones which is meant to establish stability of the rail tracks and provide a firm base to anchor the rails was acquired and paid for by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), “at a cost of three hundred pounds in October 19, 1954. Railway in this transaction with the community also paid the sum of one hundred and eighty pounds as compensation to the farmers that were using the land”. “The Federal Government went a step further, to totally confer on Railway, the ownership of the land on which the Quarry is located which takes care of ballast needs for the tracks of Nigerian Railway from Port Harcourt to Markudi”.
Unfortunately, Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi has since the past six months, ordered the immediate closure of the railway quarry site at Ishiagu, alleging that the dynamite used by ESER in crushing the quarry in order to extract ballast stones needed for the rehabilitation projects were of security risks.
This allegation by Ebonyi state government, the authorities of NRC, eastern division, led by Mr. Felix Njoku, has made consistent concerted efforts to dislodge such claims buttressing the need for the use of dynamites in the mining of quarry but to no avail.
According to Mr. Njoku while speaking with Daily Champion in his office recently, “if Ebonyi State government can allow us to evacuate 30,000 cubic tones of ballast stones which ESER have already mined, the rail lines from Enugu-Port Harcourt will be functional in a months time”.
“The issue of ballast is squarely place on the door-steps of Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi state. That of vandalization is perpetrated by the people of Imo State . No Hausa man can come here to vandalize railway properties. If you go to Amaeke, in Umuahia, Abia State , over 18 kilometer of rehabilitated rail line were vandalized. In Imo State , the Clips used in hinging the rail lines were vandalized. Therefore the problem we are having has nothing to with contractors or federal government.” Njoku lamented.
Mr. Njoku noted that, “the Federal government purchased 25 brand new locomotive engines which will be used by the whole spectrum of railway nationwide but the activities of saboteur, vandals has made the eastern lines moribund”.
Last week, the RDM issued and signed a press statement where he indicated that additional materials for the rehabilitation project of eastern tracks have arrived and is being evacuated to Enugu through Port Harcourt-Enugu line have accomplished major revamping challenges along that line.
The statement ran thus: “in a bid to revitalize the rail sector in Nigeria , Federal Government awarded contracts for the rehabilitation work of the western and eastern railway lines. Most of the track materials required for the eastern line rehabilitation have been imported and delivered to Port Harcourt station. To enhance speed of rehabilitation work, the contractor(ESER West Africa) has successfully connected all the missing sections of the lines between Port Harcourt and Enugu “.
“NRC has deployed one locomotive and several open flat wagons from Enugu to Port Harcourt which confirms that the major challenges faced on the rehabilitation project have been surmounted. Nyaba Bridge(15) in Enugu, the reconstruction of the heavy washout at Eziama in Aba, reconconstruction of Bridge 3 in Port Harcourt are all completed” the statement reads.
The Eastern District Manager further posited that movement of the imported track materials by rail from Port Harcourt to various locations along the eastern railway corridor where they are needed for rehabilitation work has commenced adding that items to be lifted in the operations include; 13,5000 pieces of 12 meter long UIC 50 Rails, 165,000 pieces of steel sleepers, associated fish plates, pandrol clips, bolts and knots.
While reacting to the development, the Managing Director,NRC, Engr. Adeseyi Sijuwade disclosed that the, “delivery of 16,795 tons of railway track materials will result in the removal of 560 Trailer trips from the road, thereby reducing the potential of road accidents and damage to the roads”.
The Minister of Transport, Isah Suleiman, in giving credence to the assertions of Railway Eastern District Manager, had heaped the blame squarely on the doorstep of the Ebonyi State government during a Town Hall meeting which took place in Enugu at the Lion building on the day, President Goodluck Jonathan laid the foundation of the new International terminal & the Commissioning of the Remodeled terminal of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Emene, Enugu, on 18th May.
From all indication, certain elements prancing the corridors of power within and outside the south-east region are bent on thwarting the lofty idea of rehabilitating the rail lines which will serve as a catalyst in the region’s sojourn towards economic rejuvenation.
It is high time such characters had a rethink and jettison whatever individual or primordial interest that have beclouded there sense of reasoning for a profound collective goal of empowering people of the south-east region.
