Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The lack of budget could delay the final curfew and planned resumption of Abuja’s public transport rail services. The deputy CEO of a Chinese company in charge of the appropriation, Mr. Jack Liwo, echoed this fear over the weekend, when the Senate CTF Committee visited the allocation site.
He said that in addition to the vandalism that caused massive setbacks to the project, the lack of budget availability was another challenge. Abuja’s light rail project, Phase 1, was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 for a few months before being abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Liwo suggested to Committee members to facilitate the release of the budget for the early final touch of allocation and resumption of rail services. He noted that some of the stations, in Abuja Metro, Kukwaba ll, Kukwaba ll, Wupa, Idu, Bassanjiwa and the airport suffered serious acts of vandalism. According to him, part of the vandalized railway apparatus wants to be imported and replaced so that the task is finished as planned.
Liwo is confident in the Chinese government’s commitment to its component of the agreement by offering the mandatory support. He said the railway would resume operations in a few months once the budget was provided. In reaction to the development, the chairman of the committee, which led other members to the site, Senate Smart Adeyemi, denounced the continued waste of the public budget by abandoning such people-oriented projects.
He was confident that the Senate would make frantic efforts to make sure the train starts running within the remaining months of this current administration. He also cautioned that all relevant stakeholders managing the project would be held accountable.
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