Railway Workers Union warns FG against planned concession of NRC

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Railway Workers Union warns FG against planned concession of NRC

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The Federal Government has been called upon by Africa Railway Workers Union (ARWU) on Monday to halt the planned concession of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to American company, General Electric (GE).ARWU President, Raphael Okoro said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, adding that such concession would have negative consequence in the sector such as job losses.He however urged the government to initiate adequate investment in the NRC for effective service delivery, stating an option of proper and effective management without concession. “GE only supplies locomotives; they are not running train services anywhere in the world. “NRC can operate effectively without concession, going by its experienced workers.“Government should invest more in the railway sector because it is the only transport sector in Nigeria where the demand is higher than supply.“We appeal to government to look inward and stop the arrangement of selling NRC to the private sector, because it will affect both the economy and the personnel,” Okoro stated.The union head also said that the government need to prioritize the refurbishment of the rail transport by importing new locomotives and wagons for better service delivery.He advised that government should put in place a monitoring team to make sure the investment reflect in commensurable services and set a target in its pursuit of international standard.According to NAN’s report, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had earlier on May 8 confirmed the readiness of GE to bring about 20 locomotives to the country when the concession deal is sealed.Amaechi, who was on an inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail in Lagos, underscored the importance of concession, as it would bring about development, as well as the desired service delivery to the NRC.He allayed the fears of the railway workers by adding that the motive is to generate more jobs instead of putting them out of work.

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