>
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Thursday challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to a time specific performance debate. He said that ahead of the 2019 elections, Nigerians need to compare the last three years of PDP and the last three years of the All Progressve Congress (APC) based on the resources they got.
The Minister said this at the Federal Government’s Special Town Hall meeting on infrastructure which was held at the Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi hall, opposite UCH main gate, Queen Elizabeth Road Ibadan, Oyo state.
He said: “We are ready for debate. In advance, we are giving them the warning. We know how much their government got in three years and we know how much our own got. We will show what we have done and challenge them to show what they also did. They are hungry now. You will only give them back power if you don’t wake up early and vote for APC on the election day.”
He also disclosed that the standard gauge rail project from Lagos to Ibadan will be completed in the next four months, adding that the federal government was working day and night to ensure early completion of the project after which focus will shift to the Lagos to Kano line.
“The government is working hard to ensure the completion of Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail project by February 2019,” he said. “We are working day and night on this project and we have started laying the tracks from Papalanto. After completing the Lagos-Ibadan section of the project, the focus would turn to the Lagos-Kano standard gauge.
“I want to thank the people and the communities along the rail tracks for their cooperation because they have never given us trouble.”
The former Rivers State governor urged the people to hold the government responsible and accountable whenever they promised to do a project or when they tell them a project is ongoing. He regretted that most people are not even aware of the rail project.
According to him, the country’s rail transport plan had been gathering dust for 34 years before the current administration insisted that it must be implemented. He said the Buhari administration should be commended for taking these giant steps in the interest of Nigeria even in the face of scarce resources.