South-West Rail Network Moves Closer as SWDC Secures Provisional Licence

The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has secured a provisional licence to establish a regional passenger and freight rail network connecting the six states of the South-West.

Managing Director Dr Charles Akinola disclosed this during a strategic meeting with regional stakeholders at Cocoa House, Ibadan. He said the commission would work with Odu’a Investment Company Limited and the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission to develop an interconnected rail system for passenger and freight transportation across the region.

“We have secured a provisional licence for rail for freight and passengers. We will work with Odu’a and DAWN to connect the South-West with rail,” Akinola said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Tuesday.

He said the commission was also exploring other infrastructure initiatives, including energy security and an integrated road transportation system.

“We are also planning energy security for the region. We are looking at constructing a road that will link Ore in Ondo State to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway for integrated transportation to open up the region. We are thinking of the establishment of a Southwest infrastructure development fund to complement the federal government’s funding,” he said.

Akinola added that the commission was open to partnerships that would support regional development. He commended the management of Odu’a Investment Company for repositioning the organisation and delivering billions of naira in dividends to its owner states.

He described the Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries in the South-West as a critical stakeholder whose experience could contribute to regional development.

Also speaking, Regional President of the association, Mr Demola Badejo, said the meeting was aimed at exploring areas of partnership between the association and the three institutions. The association presented copies of its proposed economic development plan for the South-West to Odu’a Investment Company and SWDC. He said the association was particularly pleased that the DAWN Commission collaborated in producing the publication.

Badejo described Odu’a Investment Company as a symbol of the collective economic interests of the South-West states, noting that efforts were underway to reposition the company, unlock the value of its assets and maximise their benefits. He also acknowledged DAWN Commission’s role in promoting regional integration and coordinated development among the six states.

He described the emergence of SWDC and its mandate as a new and important platform for coordinated intervention and infrastructure development across the region.

The Director-General of DAWN Commission, Dr Oluseye Oyeleye, said the region’s forebears demonstrated an “audacity of thinking” through projects such as Cocoa House, Liberty Stadium, Odu’a Investment Company and Africa’s first television station. He said their vision was focused on the next generation rather than the next election cycle.

“What our forebears did is audacity of thinking; they were not thinking of the next election but the next generation and taking the region to another level,” he said.

Oyeleye identified Odu’a Investment Company, SWDC and DAWN Commission as key institutions in shaping the future of the region and advocated a shift from divisive politics to “politics of development.”

He also disclosed that DAWN Commission had collaborated with Egbe Omo Odu’a in the diaspora to establish funds for start-up capital for businesses across the region. Applications are being invited from interested beneficiaries.

The meeting was attended by stakeholders including Odu’a Investment Company Group Managing Director Mr Yinusa Abdulraman, Badejo, Oyeleye and other regional development stakeholders.