Nigeria Railway Corporation Generates N1.13b, Needs N61.5b For Maintenance

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) announced that it generated N1.13 billion in revenue in the last year.

The Corporation has requested N61.5 billion as a proposal for 2022 procurement activities, which cuts across 22 budget lines.

These will include procurement of spare (including lubricants) for the locomotives, coaches and wagons; Insurance of locomotives and rolling stocks; rehabilitation of track from Port Harcourt to Makurdi; maintenance of roads into stators, rest houses, workshop, chalets end operational residential quarters, among others.

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Managing Director of the corporation, Fidet Okhiria, said this in Lagos, when members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Transportation, led by the Chairman, Abdulfatai Buhari, visited the corporation on an oversight function.

He said NRC’s current personnel strength was 10,672, with the current personnel cost of N9.14 billion for 2021.

He added that due to the additional staff requirements for the operation of the new Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge line, a total of 1,000 additional staff was being considered with an additional wage bill of N567, 451,300 per annum. That is an average of N567, 451.30k per staff.

He pleaded with the committee to support the NRC to achieve its quest to enable the corporation to expand its tentacles for efficiency.

The corporation also solicited the support of all stakeholders, including the National Assembly, in its quest for salary enhancement, adding that discussions are ongoing with the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC).

Consequently, the committee pledged its support to NRC with an available legislative framework to achieve seamless transportation in the country.

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