News

Proposed Niger Delta Rail Network

Published

3 years ago

May 2, 2023

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, appears to be putting the scandals, shame and turpitude of the past eight years behind, moving towards a new future of strategic visioning.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, worth $15 billion between the Commission and Atlantic Global Resources of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, reportedly an international infrastructure financing firm, in Lagos last week raised the hope that better days may well be ahead. The MoU is for the construction of a railway network that will cover all the nine states of the Niger Delta – Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers states.

Definitely, the implementation of such an ambitious project will bring much economic development and social integration for which railways are famous all over the world. It will attract a lot of investments and reduce youth unemployment and restiveness in the nation’s oil-producing region. The completion of the project will have a liberating effect on the region because it will no longer be just a place to exploit and abandon.

We hope this deal will not end up like the much vaunted East-West (Lagos to Calabar) railway network touted under the Muhammadu Buhari regime which never went beyond the verbal announcement. All we saw was the completion of the Abuja-Kaduna rail, the continuation of the Lagos to Kano rail line started by the Olusegun Obasanjo government, and the illegal construction of the rail line from Kano through Daura to Maradi in Niger Republic with borrowed funds to be repaid by Nigerians.

However, for this project to succeed, there must be attitudinal change by the elite, politicians, traditional rulers and youths of the region towards the need to develop the area. Too much selfishness, greed, violence, criminality and nonconformity are responsible for the over 13,000 projects abandoned in the region, according to former Minister of the Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Communities throughout the right of way of the rail network must commit fully to co-ownership of this project and guarantee safety of the contractors and their workforce. Not only that, they must also play their role in securing the tracks and stations. They must end their unwholesome practice of holding contractors to ransom and extorting money from them, sometimes at gunpoint. Unless these stop, the Niger Delta will never be able to develop.

It is unfortunate that the Federal Government spent the last eight years chasing shadows in the Niger Delta. Had this idea come at the beginning of the regime in 2015, we would be talking about finishing touches and full commencement of service. With this initiative coming less than a month to the end of this government, we hope the next administration will accord it the needed priority.

This is a welcome idea.
VANGUARD

Up Next

Subsidy: Salary Payment Unlikely After June, Says Obaseki

Don't Miss

Saying I Committed Treason Is Height Of Rascality – Peter Obi

Comments

News

IPF Holds Annual Ijaw Media Conference December

Published

8 hours ago

November 19, 2025

Editor

The Ijaw Publishers’ Forum has announced the second edition of its annual Ijaw Media Conference.

The conference themed “Safeguarding Oil and Gas Natural Resources for Future Generations in the Niger Delta” will take place on December 11, 2025, at KFT Place, beginning at 12 noon.

In a statement signed by the IPF National President, Comrade Ozobo Austin, the Forum noted that the conference is intended to strengthen public understanding of the dangers of oil theft, unchecked exploitation, and environmental pollution.

The statement highlighted the severe harm these practices inflict on the region, affecting both ecological systems and human communities and hindering long-term development.

The 2025 planning committee, chaired by Arex Akemotubo, has Tare Magbei as Secretary. The committee is charged with the responsibility of a successful programme.

Other members of the committee are:
Francis Abai, Financial Secretary while
Ezekiel Kagbala, Sunday Daniel; Mike Ugedi, Dr Kegbe, Sam Dogitimi,
Tam Okumbiri, serve as members.

The Forum urged leaders, stakeholders, and young people to work with relevant authorities and security groups to support continued public awareness efforts aimed at protecting the region’s natural resources and the wellbeing of its inhabitants.

The IPF also called for sponsorship and invites all stakeholders and the wider public to attend the conference on December 11, 2025

News

2027: Era Of ‘Ghost’ Voters Over, Says INEC Chairman

Published

15 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has declared that identity theft and multiple voting, which have plagued Nigeria’s elections for decades, have been effectively eliminated following the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.

Amupitan made the declaration in Abuja at the 2025 Digital Nigeria International Conference and Exhibitions organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Dayo Oketola, the INEC Chairman said BVAS had now become a decisive tool in protecting the integrity of votes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Represented by a National Commissioner, May Agbamuche Mbu, the INEC Chairman said the era of identity fraud in Nigeria’s elections is over, noting that BVAS has evolved into a foolproof verification mechanism at polling units across the country.

“The BVAS device has become our frontline defence against identity fraud, ensuring that only the rightful and eligible voter can be accredited at the polling unit..

“With the biometric safeguards now in place, voter impersonation has been effectively eliminated from our electoral system,” he stated.

He backed the claim with data from the recently concluded Anambra Governorship Election, where 6,879 BVAS devices deployed for the exercise recorded what he described as a highly commendable performance.

According to him, more than 99 percent of polling unit results were uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing portal on the same day as voting.

“These outcomes confirm that the deployment of BVAS and IReV is no longer experimental but an entrenched part of Nigeria’s electoral architecture. The figure announced at the polling units is the same figure visible to the public. Technology has safeguarded the vote,” he said.

Amupitan also stressed the importance of the legal backing now enjoyed by the Commission’s technological tools.

He explained that while earlier innovations lacked statutory enforcement, the Electoral Act 2022, particularly Section 47 subsection 2, transformed digital devices from administrative guidelines into what he described as statutorily protected pillars of the electoral system.

“This legislative foundation ensures that our digital tools have both operational and legal legitimacy. It has strengthened public trust and enabled the Commission to innovate with confidence,” he added.

Despite the progress, the INEC Chairman admitted that connectivity gaps remain a major challenge.

He said the country’s 176,846 polling units, many of which are located in swamps, mountains, and remote communities, make real-time transmission of results one of the most difficult tasks during elections.

He, however, ruled out any possibility of returning to manual accreditation, which he described as vulnerable to human interference and a threat to electoral credibility.

Amupitan maintained that the era of ghost voters in Nigeria is over, insisting that the Commission is committed to transparent, verifiable, and credible elections.

“The gains we have recorded are too significant to reverse. The Commission will continue to strengthen the system and upgrade to more seamless solutions in future elections,” he said.

“Our mission is simple. Every eligible voter must be accurately verified. Every vote must be properly counted. Every result must be transparently shared. Technology has helped us to secure these foundations of democracy.”

News

JUST IN: Wike, Govs Makinde, Bala Mohammed Clash At PDP Secretariat

Published

16 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Chaos erupted at Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday as rival factions, led by Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on one side, and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike on the other, clashed over control of the party’s headquarters amid the ongoing leadership dispute.

According to ARISE, security operatives aligned with both the FCT minister and governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed engaged in a chaotic standoff over control of the complex, with teargas reportedly deployed around the premises by both sides.

Governor Makinde stormed the venue alongside the newly elected National Secretary, Taofeek Arapaja, while Nyesom Wike remained with Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled National Secretary who maintains that his tenure remains valid until December 8, 2025.

Party leaders have expressed deep concern over the incident, accusing the police of failing to maintain neutrality amid the ongoing leadership crisis within the opposition party.