FCT Minister Wike inspects Abuja rail mass transit system ahead of flag-off of commercial operations

FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike (left) with the Secretary for Transportation Hon Chinedu Elechi (right) at the Abuja Metro station during minister’s tour of facilities at the Abuja Rail Mass Transit system on Monday.

By Anthony Maliki, Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike inspected the Abuja Rail Mass Transit system, ahead of the flag-off of its commercial operations by President Bola Tinubu, as part of the first-anniversary celebration of the Federal Government.

The FCT Minister’s inspection visit on Monday commenced at the Abuja Metro Station in the Central Business District where he inspected facilities, then rode on the train, making stops at the Stadium, Idu, and the Airport stations along the route.

This was contained in a statement by Anthony Ogunleye, Director of Press in the Office of the Minister.

The Minister who expressed satisfaction with the quality of work and the facilities at the train stations, said the project was ready to be inaugurated for commercial operation by President Tinubu, adding that the promise made by the President has become a reality.

According to the FCT Minister, “In a few days, the President will inaugurate the commercial operation of this Metro line. We have to thank God Almighty that we are good to go. We are ready and you can see the facilities. So, we are very happy and we thank God the promise Mr. President made has been kept”.

The FCT Minister further disclosed that the access roads to the train stations were also completed, adding that residents from the various communities would be able to drive to any of the train stations and board the train to their destination.

He, however stated that some of the facilities that were omitted during the design of the project, including escalators and elevators for the sick and elderly as well as air-cooling systems, especially, in the waiting areas, would also be taken into consideration and corrected in due course, while assuring that the omission would not hinder operations.

He said, “We have been able to identify one or two things that were omitted during the design and we believe that during the operation, some of those things will be taken into consideration.

“Particularly, I believe that as a standard metro line, where the passengers will be waiting to board the trains, there should be air conditioners.

“I also thought that some of the stations should have had escalators and elevators for probably those who are very old and those who may not have the strength to walk or to climb the staircases.

“Apart from that, I think we are happy with the work that has been done and we believe Nigerians will be happy, particularly the residents of the FCT,” he said.

Barrister Wike who attributed the achievements by the FCT Administration to the support of President Tinubu also thanked the President for giving him the necessary support.

He said, “Assuming we are not getting his support, this wouldn’t have been a reality. So, we want to thank him for the support”.

Speaking further on the funding details for the project, Barrister Wike also disclosed that the FCT Administration was able to renegotiate the training cost for personnel from $128 million to $75 million, thereby saving about $53million for the Federal Government.

He said “Before we came, the former Administration approved $128 million for the training of our people by CCECC for 29 months and we said no that’s very exorbitant. We renegotiated with CCECC and now it has been brought down to $75 million. We have saved no less than $53 million for the government.”

The Abuja Rail Mass Transit scheme consists of eight stations, the Abuja Metro, Stadium, Kukwaba I, Kukwaba II, Wupa, Idu, Basanjiwa and Airport stations.