THE House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the Federal Ministry of Transportation to include the completion of the Otukpo-Ajaokuta Railway project in the 2018 budget estimates.
To this end, the House mandated the Committees on Land Transport and Appropriations to ensure implementation.
The House resolution followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Hassan Omale entitled, “need to Complete Otukpo-Ajaokuta Railway Project”.
The lawmaker in his motion said that “the Railway project running from Otukpo in Benue State to Ajaokuta in Kogi State which was started by the Administration of President Shehu Shagari had been abandoned, even after the construction of the Railway Bridge from Itobe-Ajaokuta”.
He added that “rail transportation is about the earliest, cheaper and faster means of moving people and goods from one point to the other, and given that the people of the area are predominantly farmers, their produce would have been easily moved to the cities to earn revenues, boost economic activities and advance the diversification of the economy to agriculture”.
The motion scaled through when the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara put the motion to a voice vote.
and then