By the middle of July this year, the Nigerian railways system will have at least 20 locomotives running, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said.
According to a statement, Amaechi disclosed this when he granted interview to Editors of “The 2017 Nigeria Outlook”, a new economic and business annual set to make its debut in May.
“By the middle of July we should be having 20 locomotives. Our desire is that by the end of next year, you will see trains almost everywhere, as it used to be before,” he was quoted to have said.
The minister indicated that come May 29, 2019, one sure deliverable that Nigerians would appreciate the Muhammadu Buhari presidency for is an elaborate network of nationwide rail transport system that works.
He said the achievement of this target was central to attainment of effective distribution of farm produce and other goods to major towns and cities, with the resultant effect of affordable pricing of foodstuff.
“What that does is that the moment the trains are everywhere, as it used to be in the past, then you will see that prices of foodstuff would come down. Just like we did about two months ago, we crashed the price of tomatoes. The moment that happens, in Lagos and all over the states, the cost of transportation will crash,” he said.
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