The
Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday admitted that the
Abuja-Kaduna rail project was partially executed by the Goodluck Jonathan
administration, but added that the President Buhari’s government was
responsible for executing the final stages that were crucial to the project’s
completion.
The
line, first of its kind in Nigeria, was commissioned amidst fanfare by Mr.
Buhari in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja and major terminal for the route, on
Tuesday.
But
no latter had the commissioning ceremony got underway than arguments about who
deserved the most credit for what is now widely acknowledged as one of the most
consequential improvements to Nigeria’s rail transportation in a long time
ensued.
The
social media became awash with arguments between supporters of Mr. Buhari, who
said he had scored another major developmental achievement barely a year in
office, and admirers of Mr. Jonathan, who said the former leader completed the
project before leaving office in May 2015.
The
PDP released a statement detailing how the project was conceived and completed
through counterpart funding by Mr. Jonathan’s administration.
In
an apparent bid to douse the tension flaring between the two camps, Mr. Amaechi
took to his Twitter handle to weigh in on the matter, saying the project was,
in fact, conceived by President Olusegun Obasanjo, who left office nine years
ago, and received contributions from successive governments.
“The
rail contract was awarded by President Obasanjo, partially executed by
President Jonathan and completed by President Buhari,” Mr. Amaechi said.
Mr.
Amaechi’s tweet elicited criticism from mostly PDP supporters, who said the
minister was being disingenuous.
They
said Mr. Amaechi left out the fact that the train project was awarded by Mr.
Jonathan in 2011 through counterpart funding with a Chinese construction firm
at the rate of $874 million.
The
PDP also posted a link to a December 2014 Chinese news report suggesting the project was completed
in December 2014, after Mr. Amaechi’s predecessor in the ministry reportedly
bolted the last knot on the tracks.
But
Mr. Amaechi held his ground, saying a lot of efforts were put into the
completion by the APC government.
“The
rail stations, the signaling, the communications and part of d tracks were done
and completed by the Buhari administration,” he said.
-Premium Times
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