Mr Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation, has described the various achievements in the sector to the dedication of President Muhammadu Buhari towards uplifting the standard of living of Nigerians.
In an interview with NAN, Amaechi said among the achievements was the introduction of military personnel in the country’s waterways to ensure security and reduce the plight of transporters.
“You can see there are waves of complaints about what’s happening in the waters.
“We are beginning to introduce the military in the waters, meaning that all those criminal activities in the waterways will either be eliminated or reduced drastically and we are very happy about that.
“We are happy that we have completed the Abuja to Kaduna rail, we are happy that we are near completion of Lagos to Ibadan rail and also near completion of Itape to Warri rail,” Amaechi said.
He however said the major setback for the Lagos to Ibadan Rail project was completion of the various stations along the route.
He said: “Once they (contractors) complete the stations we are good to go. It will take time to build the blocks, fix the roof and so, it’s a matter of time. We believe that it should be ready by January.”
On expectations for the coming year, Amaechi said the Ministry planned to complete the various projects and moving on to new ones.
“We expect to complete all these projects and move on to Ibadan to Kano. We are going to work extremely hard in Ibadan to Kano to make sure we finish before we leave.
“We believe we will commence work on Lagos to Calabar, hopefully commence work on Abuja-Warri and also hopefully we will get the presidential approval to commence work on Port Harcourt-Maiduguri,” Amaechi added.
On the Itape-Warri Rail services, the minister said commercial activities had began, but the coaches had to be moved to the Abuja -Kaduna route due to pressure from that axis.
Amaechi said: “We have started commercial activities until we started encountering pressure on Kaduna-Abuja route.
“We then looked at the number of passengers we were encountering and decided to transfer the coaches of Itape-Warri to Kaduna-Abuja route hoping that in January once we have more coaches, then we will send some to Itape-Warri.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Anthony Odiong: Nigerian Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison over sexual assault")