Rail contract: Senate probes Amaechi

yungcrae

The Senate on Tuesday began a probe into the concession of the Easter and Western Rail Lines to General Electric, a United States company, without following due process.

The lawmakers made the move following a motion moved by Senator Bassey
Albert (Akwa-Ibom North-East), titled, ‘Urgent Need to Investigate the Granting of Concession of the Western (Lagos-Kano) and Eastern (Port Harcourt-Maiduguri) Rail Lines to General Electric, a US Company.’“The Senate is convinced that the Ministry of Transport has violated
the provisions of the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999 by unilaterally engaging the General Electric for the concession of the Western (Lagos-Kano) and Eastern (Port Harcourt-Maiduguri) rail lines as evident from the above facts,”
he stated while moving the motion.

Albert recalled the Senate noted that the Public Enterprises
(Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999 established the
National Council on Privatisation and the Bureau of Public Enterprise
for the purpose of privatisation of public enterprises.

He noted that the BPE and the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory
Facility, upon the approval of the NCP in April 2015, developed a road
map for the concessio of the Western (Lagos-Kano) and Eastern (Port
Harcourt-Maiduguri) rail lines, “despite the fact that the Nigerian
Railway Corporation Act did not envisage a concession of the
corporation until recently amended.”

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/rail-contract-senate-probes-amaechi/