Amaechi had in 2019 assured Nigerians that the rail project would be delivered by April 2020.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has said that Coronavirus outbreak is responsible for the delay in the completion of Lagos-Ibadan rail project.
Since the beginning of the year, the pace of work on the 157 km long Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line has been slow.
In November 2019, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had assured Nigerians that the project would be delivered by April 2020.
But four months later, the minister blamed the delay in the completion of the rail project on the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Corroborating Amaechi’s claim, Jerry Oche, Lagos railway District Manager said, the Federal Government is passionate about the rail project, but it will not sacrifice the health of its citizens because of it.
He said, “The simple question we should ask ourselves is what do we want? Do we want to be infected with the coronavirus because we want to meet the time for the completion of the project?”
“Or we prefer a situation where the Chinese takes care of themselves and get over the epidemic before coming to complete the project so that we all be safe and healthy?
“The project we are talking about is for the living people not for the dead. If the coronavirus should infect us, how do we handle that?
“If the project is going to be delayed and we are safe of this disease, I think it is better. Even, if they come and carried the virus, they won’t be able to do the work.
“It will now be double jeopardy for the country. We will be running from pillar to post to contain the spread and the work will be stopped also. Safety is still the first.”
Meanwhile, the free train ride from Lagos to Ibadan that was announced in November 2019 will end this month.
Amaechi had announced that the train ride would run until March, 2020.
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