The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed that it would soon begin to offer rail services that will enable transportation of cattle from the North to the South.
Fidet Okhiria, Managing Director of the NRC, said this on ‘Morning Brief,’ an interview on Channels TV, on Wednesday, monitored by News About Nigeria.
He stated that the transportation of cows and goods would recommence via the Warri-Itakpe route.
Recall that the NRC, known for passenger traffic, had suspended the movement of cattle by train following technical hitches in 2017.
The MD’s comment came hours after President Bola Tinubu’s disclosed consideration of establishing a ministry of livestock development.
On Tuesday, Tinubu had hinted at the possibility of creating a ministry of livestock development.
Okhiria said the NRC would modernise the movement of goods in the country “so that when they come by road from the north, they can move them by rail to south-south Warri”.
The MD said that the NRC has “brought in some wagons that can mobilise livestock and they are being assembled in the Kajola area of Oyo in the south-west.”
He added that railway investments should prioritise people’s well-being over profit, as indirect economic benefits will still flow into the economy, even if they don’t directly go to the government.
“We’ve built 15 wagons for livestock and maybe in the next month or two, they would be deployed from Itakpe to Warri to drive the economy,” Okhira said.
“You are not developing transportation because you want to make a profit in terms of naira and kobo, but the profit will come indirectly if we can move goods and link cities.”
