President Muhammadu Buhari has come out to say that the $1.5 billion Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway project will create wealth and business opportunities.

He recently revealed this while inaugurating the rail line, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, the rail line was established to decrease traffic on the heavily congested Lagos–Ibadan highway, and he vows to prioritise the railway system as a transportation backbone that will transform industrial and economic activity in Nigeria.

He added that the Lagos-Kano railway project when completed will link the Kano-Maradi line at Kano, and a rail link from the Nigeria southern ports of Lagos to Maradi in the Niger Republic will be achieved.

His words, “From the beginning of this administration, railway infrastructure development has been given the priority it deserves and various milestones have been reached.“Right from when the Abuja-Kaduna railway was flagged off for commercial operation in 2016 to this Lagos-Ibadan railway project being commissioned today for full commercial operation.”

“This vital line establishes an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport within its short corridor, Lagos-Ibadan, as goods to the hinterland would now be transported by rail directly from the Apapa Port quayside straight to the Inland Container Depot located in Ibadan from where it can be distributed to other parts of the country.”

“In clear recognition of the challenges posed to our economic growth by the absence of strong and effective infrastructure, we have in the rail sector, further to other ongoing railway infrastructure projects, embarked on the completion of the outstanding segment of the Lagos-Kano railway, which is Ibadan-Kano.”

“The Lagos-Kano railway project when completed will link the Kano-Maradi line at Kano and a rail link from the Nigeria southern ports of Lagos to Maradi in the Niger Republic will be achieved.”

“The connection through rail would position Nigerian ports as the choice for import and export business of the people of landlocked Niger Republic.”

“This would be beneficial to the economy through employment from new business opportunities and wealth creation.”