Igbo Assembly rejects Eastern Narrow Gauge Rail project, blasts Amaechi | ONN REPORTS.
An Igbo sociopolitical organization, the World Igbo Peoples Assembly, (WIPAS), has rejected the narrow Gauge Rail line billed for the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri rail line. The Igbo group lambasted the Minister for Transportation, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi for being part of the alleged sham and marginalisation of his people. DAILY POST recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the award of contracts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri eastern narrow-gauge railway, with new branch lines and trans-shipment facilities. The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, had made this known when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the 18th virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council, revealing that the Council approved the construction of a new deep seaport in Bonny, under the Private-Public- Partnership (PPP) programme and the construction of an Industrial railway park in Port Harcourt. But a press release signed by its Board of Trustee Chairman, Chuks Ibegbu and made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, WIPAS queried why “the rail line from the West to the North should be standard gauge and that from the East be narrow gauge”. The statement said ”the federal government is building a standard rail gauge line from Daura to Maradi in the Niger Republic and Rotimi Amaechi allowed this insult on his people”. WIPAS called for an immediate review of the project and warned against the continuation of the project until the wrong is rectified. On the alleged missing one billion naira defence funds as revealed by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, the Igbo organization called for the arrest of the former service chiefs. it lamented that several soldiers and civilians have died in the war fronts of the North East while some unpatriotic top military officers and their civilian collaborators pilfer funds meant for the defence of the people.
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