President Bola Tinubu has made a commitment that his administration will complete the Eastern Rail line connecting Port Harcourt to Maiduguri before he leaves office.
The President gave the assurance during an interactive session with South East leaders during his official visit to Enugu over the weekend.
He also pledged that his administration would support the development of the Anambra Basin as a significant energy reserve.
The basin is estimated to hold up to 1 billion barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic feet of gas.
During the meeting, the President was attentive to the requests made by former Minister of Power Professor Chinedu Nebo and Enugu State indigene Chris Ugoh and responded with a commitment to address their concerns.
While applauding the Tinubu administration for completing the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the Eastern rail line, Nebo appealed to the President to prioritise the completion of the remaining portions of the rail link.
He emphasised the rail link’s potential to boost Nigeria’s non-oil exports and economic growth.
Ugoh noted that the Anambra Basin has the potential to support power generation and industrial feedstocks.
He appealed to the Federal Government to develop this resource to benefit the southeast and other regions of the country, including the Middle Belt and the North.
National Commissioner representing the South East in the Police Service Commission, Onyemauche Nnamani, urged the Federal Government to implement modern security strategies in the region, akin to the statewide CCTV system and patrol cars with surveillance cameras in Enugu State.
Nnamani called on the federal government to de-emphasise the mounting of checkpoints and roadblocks in the region, saying, “It is inefficient and exposes our security personnel to attacks by non-state actors.”
Responding to the request for the rail line, President Tinubu reassured the audience, saying, “It is a work in progress. I inherited some of these critical problems and am committed to solving them.”
“On the support of the gas infrastructure. Sure, gas is an alternative to petrol. There is no wasting of time than to invest more in it. We will do it together, and I am lucky I have good governors. ”
