OPEIFA: FG committed to connect major cities with rail as Kano-Maradi railway to Niger is receiving priority.

By Afolabi Oyekunle.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, (NRC) Dr. Kayode Opeifa, said that the Kano-Maradi Railway project is key to improving food security in Nigeria, as the government is committed to connect major cities with rail lines

Opeifa, who said this on Saturday on Channels Television’s Sunrise, said the rail connection between Niger and the Niger Republic was important because mobility could not be removed from the food supply chain as it was at the centre of food security.

NRC MD Dr. Kayode Opeifa.

"Beyond that, if you take mobility out of the equation, you won’t have food security. When you take mobility out of logistics and supply chain, you are just joking.

“Mobility is at the center of food security, and that’s what the Kano-Maradi, which will now be Kano to Kaduna, Kaduna to Abuja, Abuja to Lagos, will represent,” he added.

“According to AU 2063, African countries are encouraged to link with landlocked countries because there is potential in those countries. By the way, from the literature I’ve read, the food security for Nigeria and West Africa in cereal and livestock is tied to Maradi. So, you can see the reasoning linking Kano to Maradi."

“Opeifa, however, said the government was committed to making sure major cities are connected through a new infrastructure map of rail.

He said there were plans by the Federal Government to introduce new rail lines across cities. He said that now that the rail system, had been moved to the concurrent list, there are opportunities for states to get grants to develop their rail lines.

The government now decided to do a new infrastructure map of rail, and that is to make sure major cities are connected,” he added.

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