NRC fix lifts, escalators at Idu station after Minister’s threat

Blames cost of diesel, bandits attacks for drop in revenue

A few days after the Minister of Transportation threatened to sanction the Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Cooperation over the deplorable state of the train station in Idu Yard, Abuja, efforts have been made to fix the lifts, escalators and other facilities.

The NRC Managing Director stated during an inspection of the station with media houses that efforts are being made to put things in order at the train station despite their lean resources.

The Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali had queried the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) when he paid an unscheduled visit to the station to know the state of the facilities at the station.

The minister had disclosed during the visit that was preempted by complaints of dilapidated facilities and non-payment of allowances to security escorts.

He then directed that actions be taken to fix the dilapidated facilities and payment of allowance be made within 48 hours.

When the MD arrived at the station, the railway workers were on ground clearing grasses, sweeping, cleaning, and fixing the escalators.

While speaking to newsmen, he stated that The minister was here a few days ago and he highlighted a lot of issues that need to be corrected. So, as a follow-up to ensure that the directives are carried out, we have to be here to ensure that our men are on duty.

“Right now, we can joyfully say that the three lifts are working, and out of the escalators, one is fully working while the other two are one-directional and the men are working to fix it.

“So, we appreciate the minister’s visit and it has woken everybody up including myself and you can see that they are now responsive to their various roles and as the minister said, we will not tolerate anyone that is negligent. We have renewed hope and we are ready to key into it and ensure that we deliver what is required to make the railway better and more productive”.

“We also hope that the remaining escalators will be operational before the end of the day because the men are on ground to fix it. The problem we had was that it was not reported that they were not working, we thank God the minister came unannounced because if I was coming, they would know and everything would work.

“You can see that we are here today to see signs that they are working. So, we expect such visits not only here but all over the place so that it can put our men on their toes.”

On allowances, he blamed the delay on the cost of diesel and the attack by the bandits.

He said: “The allowance is numerous and a bit huge on us, we have to prioritise because of the cost of operation especially fuel which is heavy on us and the next thing is to prioritse security and cleaning because if the trains are not clean and secured, the passengers will not patronize us.

“I appreciate the security team and we will do our best to ensure that they are okay. I can say that two months out of the five months outstanding allowances have been paid and we will work out the outstanding.

“I also appeal to them to cooperate and they are aware that we don’t usually delay, we pay before the end of every month when things were the same.

“Before the attack, we were earning N500 million a month, and after the attack, we hardly earn N1 million, and at the same time, diesel has gone up from N200 to about N1000 and we must provide service for the people, I am happy to inform you that following the minister’s directives, we have been able to pay two months.”

He also stated that the 95 per cent rail allowance approved for workers would be implemented soon.

He said: “I encourage our staff to be diligent and work hard, we know the pay is not very encouraging but they know we are working on it and I have already told the minister and he promised to do something about it.