By John Ikani
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday officially inaugurated the 157km double track Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge at the Mobolaji Johnson Railway Station, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
While Innaugurating the project, Buhari described it ‘‘as another milestone in the drive of this administration to revitalize the railway system and establish it as a choice mode of transportation for both passengers and freight.’’
The president pledged that his administration would continue to prioritise the railway system as a transportation backbone that can transform industrial and economic activity in the country.
Addressing Nigerians, Buhari expressed happiness that the project which was greeted with pessimism is being inaugurated in the life time of the administration.
He expressed commitment to the ongoing massive infrastructural development across the country.
What you should know
The Mobolaji Johnson Railway Station, Ebute Metta, Lagos commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari is the biggest train station in West Africa.
It was Buhari’s first state visit to Lagos is six years and a major major milestone project as the 156km Lagos Ibadan Railway links the nation’s economic capital to Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State and political capital of the Southwest.
On the benefits of the Lagos-Ibadan corridor, President Buhari said: ‘‘This vital line establishes an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport within its short corridor, Lagos – Ibadan, as goods to the hinterland would now be transported by rail directly from the Apapa port Quayside straight to the Inland Container Depot located in Ibadan from where it can be distributed to other parts of the country.
Shortly after he inaugurated the project, President Buhari took a ride from Ebute Metta Station to Energy Nature Light (ENL), Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos.
He was joined by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governors of Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun and the Deputy Governor of Ondo, the Minister of Transportation, the Minister of State Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, other ministers as well as some government officials.
