How Buhari revived Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, others

By Anas Olanrewaju

The Federal Republic of Nigeria was recently thrown into mourning following the death of President Muhammadu Buhari, the immediate past President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

His death in London at the age of 82 was greeted with shock and disbelief. His death was described widely as not only a national loss but loss to Africa and several nations of the world.

Described as a pro-poor President, Buhari left legacies of infrastructural renaissance, changing the face of the nation’s railway and road infrastructures.

Little wonder his successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave him a befitting national burial amidst widespread plaudits for the honour accorded to the former President.

The nation’s transportation sector especially the roads and railways sub-sectors witnessed increased activities with the flag-off of new railway and road projects as well as the revival of existing railway lines to ease transportation of goods and cargoes across the country.

Below are some of the road and rail projects the administration undertook between 2015 and 2023 it was in the saddle.

156km Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail completed and commissioned, within a Nigerian-record-time of 4 years (2017 to 2021).

– 8.72km extension to Lagos-Ibadan Rail Line, to Lagos Port Complex, completed in 2021.

– 186km Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge Rail Line, completed and commissioned in 2016.

– 327km Itakpe-Warri Standard Gauge Rail completed and commissioned in 2020, 33 years after construction began.

– As part of this project, there was the full rehabilitation of the Railway Village, Agbor, as well as construction of a Railway Ancillary Facilities Yard, also in Agbor. In 2021 the Line commenced commercial freight haulage, transporting pipelines for the AKK Gas Pipeline project.

– Commencement of the E-Ticketing concession process for the Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe Standard Gauge Rail Lines. The scope of the project is to Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Manage Secure Ticketing Solution systems (Hardware and Software) for the two lines.

– Completion of the E-Ticketing concession process on Abuja-Kaduna Route in 2021, which increased the monthly generated revenue from less than N200 Million to N400 Million. Presidential Communications Team (PCT), 2015-2023 11 – Abuja Light Rail completed in 2018.

The administration also started the construction of Kaduna-Kano Standard Gauge Rail Line, following the ground-breaking by President Buhari in July 2021.

Similarly, it carried out the ground-breaking for construction of 284km Kano-Maradi Standard Gauge Rail (with branch line to Dutse) while preliminary works started in 2021.

– Ground-breaking done by President Buhari for complete revamp of Port Harcourt–Maiduguri Narrow Gauge Rail. Work has kicked off in 2022.

– 377 Wagons, 64 Coaches, and 21 Locomotives (including DMUs) purchased for the Standard Gauge network, between 2016 and 2021.

– Jobs, Training and Capacity Building: More than 11,000 new jobs created from the on-going rail modernization projects in the country. More than 100 qualified young Nigerians awarded full international scholarships for undergraduate/graduate courses in rail engineering and transport in China, from 2018.

In addition, dozens of Nigerian Engineers have been trained as part of the railway modernization projects.

– Establishment of a new Transportation University in Daura, Katsina State, and establishment of a new Rail Wagon Assembly Plant in Kajola, Ogun State – both nearing completion of construction.

In the area of road construction, the former President left a footprint that cannot be easily erased. The all-important Lagos-Ibadan expressway was almost completed before he left office. As far back as 2022, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway considered the busiest arterial highways connecting the South to the North and the East, has been completed up to the popular Iwo road in Ibadan with work almost getting to Ojo which is the final stretch of the road.

This was achieved through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), investing over a billion dollars in the three flagship projects including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway (two of three sections for completion in May 2023).

Buhari issued an Executive Order 7 of 2019, on the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme which allows companies that are willing and able to spend their own funds on constructing critical roads, to recover their construction costs by paying reduced taxes, over a period of time, and in a transparent manner.

With the fund, about three trillion Naira was mobilised or committed for road projects across all six geopolitical zones of the country, by companies like Dangote Group, MTN, BUA, NLNG and NNPC Limited.

Under the Buhari government, the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), a public-private partnership program to mobilise, in its first Phase, over a Trillion Naira in private investment into the development and maintenance of 12 Roads, amounting to 1,963km in length, was birthed. The HDMI is being expanded by the succeeding government thereby redefining road infrastructure funding.

More than 600 billion Naira worth of Sukuk Bonds raised since 2017 for more than 40 critical road projects across all six geopolitical zones. Between November 25 and December 13, 2021, the Federal Government handed over to benefiting communities 941 km of completed Sukuk road projects connecting 10 states in five geo-political zones of the country.

Buhari, a one-time Military Head of State before becoming the civilian government, may have passed away today, his legacies of infrastructural renewals across the country, would remain indelible for decades to come.