The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has insisted the Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic rail line has potential economic benefits to Nigeria.
A statement from the minister’s media office quoted him to have said: “Last week, we awarded the contract for Kano to Maradi and people were screaming why are we taking it to Niger Republic.
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“It’s important to take it to Niger because of economic reasons.
“Most coastal territories in Africa are competing better than us in terms of cargoes coming from not the hinterland, the landlocked countries.”
“We decided to join the market and compete so that we can make our seaports very viable.
“We decided to introduce the Kano-Maradi rail, so that we can convey their goods from Maradi (a boundary village) to our ports with ease,” he said.
He said the Kano-Maradi rail line will afford the country the opportunity to compete in the area of transporting cargoes, good and services to and from landlocked neighbouring countries like Niger via the seaports in Lagos, adding that it’s all about economics, not politics.
