Stakeholders move to resume cattle transport by rail

Arrangements have been put in place to resume movement of cattle by rail which was launched last year September and suspended recently.

The technical partner to the project and the Chief Executive Officer of Connect Rail Service, Mr. Edeme Kelikume, said the operation has not stopped contrary to insinuations in some quarters.

Addressing a press conference at the weekend, he said neither the Federal Government nor any of its arms involved in the operation suspended the exercise which he said was a laudable feat to be recorded in the life of any administration.

Kelikume who spoke on the heels of reports about the cattle dealers expressing misgivings about the project explained that the true position was that there was a minor technical hitch.

He said lack of communication however aggravated the problem which prompted the cattle dealers to go to the press.

He said efforts are in top gear to meet with the cattle dealers and other stakeholders involved in order to iron out the contending issues and immediately recommence the operation.

Other stakeholders are the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and the Nigeria Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

He said the hitches were not unexpected since the haulage operation of cattle by rail had never been done in the last 30 years, adding that the exercise was something that the country needed.

According to him, five operations were carried out smoothly when the operation started with a total of 2,500 cattle ferried from Gombe, Gusau, Zamfara State and Nguru, Yobe State down to Lagos.

He said, “The true position is that nothing was suspended. The Federal Government, neither NIRSAL, nor Connect Rail suspended the cattle by rail operation. However, there were some technical hitches that were experienced in the course of executing the operation both from the human and the material side.’’