JUST IN: FG announces resumption of Abuja-Kaduna train services

The Federal Government of Nigeria announced on Monday that the return of train service between Abuja and Kaduna is scheduled for this month, November.

The Transportation Minister, Mu’azu Sambo, revealed this in Abuja while presenting his ministry’s scorecard.

He claimed that sufficient security had been put in place to guarantee the well-being of the travelers. However, the Minister did not provide a precise start date.

The attack in March, which claimed the lives of several passengers and resulted in the suspension of train service on the Abuja-Kaduna route, according to Sambo, taught the ministry enough lessons.

Meanwhile, in the state of Kogi’s East and West senatorial districts, the federal government has officially launched rural electricity projects.

Emekutu, Ikebe, and Ojagbo communities in Kogi East are the locations of the rural electricity projects, and Ayetoro Gbede, Isanlu, Anguwan-Kura, Araromi, and Olujumu are the communities that will benefit in Kogi West, the state’s senatorial district.

While officially opening the projects, President Muhammadu Buhari stated that the Federal Government was giving its people access to electricity in a sustainable way for social and economic development.

The President, who was represented by the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu, noted that it was anticipated that the standard of living of the rural population would improve with the provision of affordable electricity access through quality health care services, education, agricultural production, and security.

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The President went on to say that the strategy of this administration was to increase access to electricity through the implementation of grid extension projects in areas that were close to the national grid and through the use of renewable energy, particularly solar-powered mini-grids, in locations where doing so was economically feasible, particularly in rural and remote areas with challenging geographic terrain.

The president said, “Electricity and energy projects are capital intensive and therefore, the task of implementing such projects cannot be borne by the government alone. In this vein, my government has progressively been developing policies and regulations to provide a clear roadmap and incentives to attract private sector participation in financing, developing, operating, and maintenance of rural electrification projects.

“Some of the programs of my administration designed to increase electricity access, especially through renewable power in accordance with Nigeria’s commitment to reducing global warming as contained in the updated National Determined Contributions of the Paris Climate Change Accord.”

In order to improve the lives and livelihoods of the populace, President Buhari assured Nigerians that his administration had successfully implemented and would continue to implement a wide range of infrastructure programs.

In his words, “We are determined to ensure the financial sustainability of the electricity market by enhancing our strategies to facilitate contract effectiveness.

“Additionally, in our quest to enhance universal access to electricity, we are developing economically viable off-grid projects that can be replicated all over the country.

“The commissioning of this project is a big step towards achieving our goal of increasing the electrification rate to 90% by the year 2030.”