In a bid to ensure the well-being of the citizenry, the House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport has hinted that it will summon officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) over the recent derailment of a Kaduna-bound train, which left about seven persons injured.
Also to be summoned by the lawmakers are the officials of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) responsible for the construction of the railway tracks.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Blessing Onuh, who dropped the hint to journalists in Abuja on Monday, described the unfortunate incident as an embarrassment to the country.
Onuh, who represents Ohimini/Otukpo Federal Constituency, Benue State, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), assured that her committee will not shirk in its responsibility to ensure the well-being of Nigerians.
She said, “The train derailment on Tuesday was unfortunate, and to the Glory of God, no life was lost. But how long shall we continue to tolerate these avoidable situations? Rail transportation remains the safest means of movement across the world.
“In most countries, you won’t hear of train mishaps for decades. Why is ours, which is a few years old, different? These incidents are becoming too frequent, and we cannot fold our hands and do nothing about this.
“The Committee on Land Transport will, in the next few days, invite the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the contractor that handled the projects and other relevant stakeholders. We want to hear from them and get assurances that this will not happen again.
“More importantly, we want to know what they are putting in place to enhance safety and deliver top-notch services to our esteemed passengers. Enough is enough! We must get to the root of this and fix whatever needs to be fixed.”
Commiserating with the victims of the accident, she called on the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to expedite action on its ongoing investigation of the incident and recommend measures to forestall a recurrence.
