Drama in Senate as Amaechi, Senators clash over Eastern Corridor Rail Project ….. Senates asks Amaechi to return with documents
There was drama in the Senate on Thursday as the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local debts headed by Senator Shehu Sani flagged off its probe into the alleged exclusion of the Eastern Corridor from the Federal government’s rail modernisation projects.
Chairman, South East caucus in the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe had two weeks ago raised the motion alleging that the South East was completely excluded Federal Government’s Rail Modernisation project, for which a Chinese loan is already being procured.
The Senate thereafter referred the matter to the Committee on Foreign and Local Debts to investigate.
At its hearing on Thursday, Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi had heated encounters with Senators in his attempt to defend the fact that the South East was excluded from the rail project.
Senators Enyinaya Abaribe, Sabi Abdullahi and Shehu Sani thoroughly probed the Minister of Transportation, as they insisted that the Federal government had employed different methods in handling the Western and Eastern axes of the rail development scheme.
The Minister however defended the decision of the Federal Government to borrow for the rail project.
He said that the Federal Government was only implementing contracts awarded by past presidents, including President Olusegun Obasanjo and the immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
He said: “Prior to the resolution of the Senate, this administration had taken steps to incorporate the Eastern Corridor and indeed the North East Corridor that was not provided for at all by the previous administration in 2006 and 2014 rail projects development.”
He defended the alleged excusion of the South East from the project saying: “The Coastal rail line already has its route alignment passing through Aba in Abia State and Onitsha in Anambra State, both of which are in the South East geopolitical zone.
“These projects for which the approval of the National Assembly of USD 5,214,914,368.33 being co-financing fund by China EXIM bank is being sought for the rail projects were neither conceived not approved under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, rather, this administration pursued the projects vigorously in view of their importance to the development of the socio-economic lives of the citizenry.”
The Senate committee however asked his to produce documents as evidence that the Eastern axis of the Railway modernisation project was not abandoned before it could submit its report to the Senate.
