Senate Probes Abuja-Kaduna Railway contract, decadence

...Says trekking is faster than Lagos- Ibadan train

The Senate has begun a full scale investigation into operational inefficiencies and insecurity in the Nigerian railway system following concerns over declining service delivery.

Consequently, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Thursday inaugurated an ad hoc committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the Nigerian railway system.

The Committee has been mandated to examine the execution of rail projects, funding, operational efficiency and service delivery and is expected to submit its report within six weeks.

The Committee was initially constituted in November,  2025 and inaugurated on thursday is chaired by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, APC, Edo North. 

Other members of the Committee are Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe; Huseini Babaginda, Adamu Aliero, Wasiu Eshinlokun, Osita Ngwu, Adeola Solomon, Ibrahim Dankwabo, Ireti Kingibe, Abdul Ningi, Titus Zam; Olamilekan Adeola;  Sahabi Yau, among others.

The resolution for this thorough investigation was sequel to a point of Order raised by the former Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi,  PDP, Bauchi Central.

Ningi who came under Order 42 of the Senate Standing Orders 2023 as amended which  has to do with personal explanation drew  drew the attention of the Senate to the deteriorating state of key rail corridors in the country.

 In his presentation, Ningi particularly drew the Senate’s attention to the condition of the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano rail line, alleging that the contract for the project was poorly executed.

He expressed his worries over the sudden delipitating nature of Abuja to Kaduna Railway which was commissioned in 2015 by the late Muhammadu Buhari administration and suddenly is performing below expectations.

Senator Ningi who noted that he had a personal experience by using the train from Abuja to Kaduna, said that  he was shocked that the transport system that used to carry over ten thousand passengers in a day has suddenly dropped to eight hundred passengers and most pethetic about it is the number of hours the train struggles to reach its destination which often lasts more than, three hours as against the normal one hour to arrive one's destination either Abuja to Kaduna or Kaduna to Abuja.

Ningi who noted that  the situation is worrisome and requires urgency, claimed that despite the rail line generating over 1.8 billion naira in revenue, there has been no corresponding improvement in services.

He further noted that while the journey from Abuja to Kaduna initially took about one and a half hours, it now takes approximately three and a half hours to cover the same distance.

Additionally, he asserted that train operations on the route have been reduced to one trip daily, with a departure from Abuja at 7:00 a.m. and a return trip from Kaduna, compared to the multiple daily trips that were previously available.

Senator Ningi reiterated that the order was strictly raised to also look into amongst  other things, the billions of naira generated during the active days of the Railway to its present condition and what has happened to the revenue generated by the management.

In his remarks  on the state of rail services, Senator Akpabio expressed concern over the declining speed of the Abuja–Kaduna train service, just as he said that  the investigation is to be extended to the use of the second hand couches and the rail tracks.

He lamented  that the journey time has deteriorated to the point that a bicycle or Keke Napep could reach Kaduna faster than the train, a situation he considered worrisome and the need to inaugurate an ad-hoc committee to investigate the Railway system in the country, adding that  trekking is faster than Lagos- Ibadan train. 

Ningi said, " I  alerted you on the tragic history of the Nigerian railway situation, particularly... as it affects Kano and Kaduna rail lines. 

"Mr. President, you will recall, like my colleagues will recall, the Nigerian railway lines between Kano, between Kaduna and Abuja was laid by the then President, good luck, Jonathan in 2015, as he was departing the rail line was commissioned. And subsequently, when late President Buhari took over, in May 2015, he further recommissioned the lines. With about... five heads of cargos and about eight to ten coaches or thereabouts.

"From 2015, the railway started committing ten trenches of movement, five from Abuja to Kaduna and five from Kaduna to Abuja. And my investigation told me, when they started commuting, they were commuting 10,000 passengers in a day. 

"Last two weeks, I visited Kaduna like I used to visit Kaduna with the railway and what I found and discovered  was simply a tragic Nigerian story. I ventured into the leader of the railway, that is the manager, and he rendered these statistics to me. 

"First he told me they were commuting 10,000 passengers and because of the terrible nature of Kaduna Abuja road most people come from Kaduna and walk and travel back to Kaduna. The 10,000 passengers they were doing a day was reduced to about 800 to 900. The ten shuttling they were doing a day was reduced, Mr. President, to two times a day.

"And I was made aware that while the railway was working on full capacity, they were of course creating a revenue of 1.8 billion monthly. The story I'm about to read out, Mr. President, that at this moment, there is no line except one that goes to Kaduna and sleeps and come backs in the morning to Abuja. 

"What that tells you, I was a committee subchairman of SURE-P, the government of Goodluck Jonathan then, pumped  billions of Naira into that railway.

 "But what is found that, what is amazing, and Nigerians are unaware of, is that everything that came in terms of the cargo and coaching were second-handed. 

"And therefore, they were kept aside. And while I was on one of these trips last week, I called the chairman of the Senate Committee on Transport, Sen. Aliero, to alert him on this. Even yesterday, I approached him because I listened to the managing director of Nigerian Railways who took over duties as I said about a year or so ago and he was exhibiting the successes of Nigerian Railway.

"Unfortunately, he confined his statements on the circumstances recorded between Lagos and Ibadan. As I speak to you now, if you want to go to Kaduna and you are running away from the road, you need to walk up by 7am and take a railway to Kaduna. Otherwise, you forget it and if you are coming from Kaduna to Abuja, you need to be at the railway by 1.30p.m and this is the only thing. 

"So what am I saying  Mr. President, is that we cannot as a nation continue to allow the decadence of our scarce resources. 

"When the railway started it was one and half hours to Kaduna. Last week when I went, we spent three and half hours. it was moving on a slow  speed, and therefore people have no alternative. Mr President, this is very disturbing it will not only disturb me it must disturb this Senate and Nigerians that as it looks, nobody is ready to do anything about it. Of course, without any prejudice to Adams Oshiomhole's committee that is saddled with investigating the decadence of railway system in Nigeria but this particular matter I have also informed the adhoc committee chairman of the decay."