JUST IN: Buhari names railway complex after Goodluck Jonathan

By Biola Adebayo On Jul 18, 2020

President Muhammadu Buhari has appreciated the effort of his predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan in the revival of infrastructural projects in the country as he approved the naming of the Agbor Railway Complex after him.

President Buhari Special Assistant on Digital and New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi disclosed this on his Twitter handle on Saturday.

“President @MBuhari has approved the naming of the Railway Complex in Agbor-the operational hub of Itakpe-Warri rail line after President Goodluck Jonathan. It will be known as the Goodluck Jonathan Railway Station and Complex,” he tweeted @toluogunlesi.

BREAKING | President @MBuhari has approved the naming of the Railway Complex in Agbor – the operational hub of #ItakpeWarriRail Line – after former President @GEJonathan. It will be known as the Goodluck Jonathan Railway Station & Complex — Minister of Transport, @ChibuikeAmaechi

— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) July 18, 2020

Join @toluogunlesi Now On A Landmark Rail Tour In Real Time! 🇳🇬 #FactsOnly https://t.co/mdKAn4oRRD

— Ajuri Ngelale (@AjuriNgelale) July 18, 2020

Following the completion of work on the Itakpe-Warri standard gauge rail line by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government; a test-run of coaches on the route commenced on Friday.

Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi announced this on his Twitter Handle @ChibuikeAmaechi. “Today, we started test-run of the newly delivered coaches on the completed Itakpe-Warrior standard gauge rail line.”

Today, we continued test-run of our new coaches on the completed Itakpe-Warri standard gauge rail line.

We've named the largest station on this route – the Agbor railway facility and station after former President Goodluck Jonathan. pic.twitter.com/RZ8HtnigLi

— Chibuike.R. Amaechi (@ChibuikeAmaechi) July 18, 2020

Tolu Ogunlesi in a tweet said the test-run earlier slated for April had to be suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic which also led to the temporal stoppage of rail transportation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC.

It said the 276 km rail line links Warri in Delta and Agenebode (Edo) to Ajaokuta in Kogi state.

According to the tweet,’’ Work on the rail line started in 1987 in the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida but was abandoned by successive administrations owing to the paucity of funds. In 2009, the then government of President Umaru Yar’ Adua reactivated the project at a cost of about $200 million (N72 billion). The project in 2019 was extended to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as the Buhari-led government signed a N1.4 trillion ($3.9 billion) contract with the China Railway Construction Corporation to connect the rail line to the nation’s capital.’’