Railway revolution: Nigeria to witness biggest investment in two years

L-R: Editor of Transport Day, Mr. Frank Kintum; Representative of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akin-George Fashola; Zonal Commanding Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps (Lagos and Ogun States), Assistant Corp Marshal Ann Oladayo; and Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa at the 11th Nigeria Transport Lecture, held in Lagos on Thursday, June 19, 2025

Chinedum Ihedigbo

Current administration led by President Bola Tinubu is set to revolutionize Nigeria’s rail transport sector with an investment that will surpass the combined efforts of all past governments.

According to Dr. Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), the next two years will witness the biggest investment in Nigerian railways, exceeding the industry’s funding over the last 60 years.

He disclosed this in Lagos on Thursday at the 11th Nigeria Transport Lecture (NTL), organized by Transport Day Media.
He said the investment coming to the railway would surpass what the country had put in the industry in the last 60 years.

He said this could easily be achieved by both the Federal and state governments after removing the railway from the exclusive to concurrent list and as part of the fallout of fuel subsidy removal.

Opeifa who lauded President Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike Others for repositioning the transport system in the country in the past two years, spoke while delivering a paper titled: “Sustainable Transformation System In Nigeria: A Pathway To Economic Prosperity”.

According to him, the Nigerian government is making steady progress in building an integrated transport network across the country with the support of investors who are committed to boosting economic recovery and improving macroeconomic indicators.

Specifically, he said President Tinubu had done excellently well by daring to free scarce resources wasted on fuel subsidies and harmonization of currency exchange rates.

He also pointed out that the removal of railways from the exclusive to the concurrent list, the starting of the completion of over 40 years of abandoned Badagry-Sokoto super highway and the starting of the construction of the game-changing Lagos-Calabar super highway are positive indications of a sustainable transportation system.

Other areas he gave credit to the current administration are the investment in rail infrastructure, supporting states with grants for rail system infrastructure, and establishment of the Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG) among others.

Ranking Lagos and Abuja as two cities with the most impressive transportation systems, Opeifa said that Kano, Kaduna, Delta, Edo, Oyo, Ogun and others had equally made substantial successes in the transportation system.

He said, “Of mention are the efforts of the states of the northern part of Nigeria investing in Intra-city and interstate transport services as we have in Adamawa, Taraba, Borno, Sokoto, Kastina, Kogi, Gombe states among others.”

He equally observed that the efforts of the private sector involvement in interstate transportation were more noticeable in the southeastern regions.

Proffering short-term and long-term strategies for developing a sustainable transportation system in the country, Opeifa advised that the government and all other stakeholders, including the private sector, donor agencies and development partners must work together for a sustainable result by prioritising accessibility, affordability, inclusion efficiency, and environmental responsibility while taking into account cost-benefit analysis.

Other steps for a transport management system as listed by the NRC boss are the enactment of a national policy on the sustainable transportation system, the development of a new strategic national rail transportation and logistics master plan, a framework for sustainable mass transit operations in Nigeria and establishment of the Ministry of Transportation at all sub-national levels.

He also harped on the need for a review of the current National Integrated Infrastructure master plan and the creation of an integrated strategic transportation master plan for each state/sub-national government (rail, road, water, air, maritime).

Despite the progress made, he equally warned that infrastructure deficiencies, insecurity, operational challenges, union issues, decarbonization and lack of clear policy, structure and processes had remained the bane of a sustainable transportation system in the country.

The lecture was well attended by key stakeholders in the transportation industry including the Lagos state government, federal government agencies, Federal Road Safety Corps, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Nahco Aviance Plc, Nexant Consulting, and transport and affiliated firms among others.