Rail to Niger Republic: Ortom asks National Assembly to prevail on Buhari to stop 

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has called on the National Assembly to prevail on President Muhammad Buhari against the proposed construction of a rail line from Kano to Niger Republic at the cost of 1.9 billion dollars.

The governor particularly, charged the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Water Resources, Hon Sada Soli to team up with his colleagues to prevail on the president to jettison the idea of constructing rail lines from Kano to Niger Republic.

Governor Ortom stated this during the inauguration and groundbreaking ceremony of Benue State Geographic Information Service in Makurdi.

Ortom asked of what benefit does the rail lines from Kano Nigeria bring to the people of the country.

“What is the economic benefit of a rail line from Nigeria to Niger? Why do we have to take $1.9 billion to make a rail line to Niger?” Ortom asked.

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He stated further, “Some of the policies of the Federal Government has made some of us suspicious. We have seen cattle colony, Ruga and open grazing camouflage coming into play.”

Meanwhile, while answering  questions from journalists on the dumped Water Resources Bill during a condolence visit to elder statesman, Wantaregh Paul Unongo, who lost his wife recently, the governor lauded the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, for heeding the appeals of Nigerians to throw out the bill.

According to him, “I  thank God for the House of Representatives members and the Speaker of the House who understand the yearnings of our people.

“The water bill as proposed has no place whatsoever in Nigeria as at today. It is a plan to reintroduce Ruga and I keep saying it.

“You cannot bring a law with a hidden agenda and you think you can impose it on the people; we will certainly resist it. And we will tell our members in the House to stand with the Speaker to ensure that that kind of bill does not come forth.

“Now that they have referred it to go through the normal channel if they want, they can reintroduce it, we will go to the public hearing.

“The question everyone is asking is; if they are saying there is nothing in the bill, why are they then amending the existing law that has been there for a long time?

“I will continue to stand for the truth no matter the aspersion anyone wants to cast on me. 

“Moreover, the entire South-South, South-East, South-West and the Middle-Belt as a whole came out to resist that bill warning that they would not accept it. So I congratulate the House of Representatives for what they have done.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE