The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has lampooned the federal government over the approval of $1.96bn for a rail line that would link Nigeria to Niger Republic.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed to State House correspondents on Wednesday the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved the fund for the project.
The minister noted that the rail line will connect Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states to Maradi in Niger Republic in order to aid the transportation of crude oil.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbindiyan, condemned the proposed project, describing it a misplacement of priority by the All Progressives Congress-led government.
Ologbindiyan noted that the rail project is not neccessary at this time Nigerians are protesting against the hike in the price of fuel and electricity.
He said: “The problem of this regime is that it has never got its priorities right and at the end of the day, Nigerians are the ones who suffer from these poor choices by these people.
“Let’s even look at it from the point of view of the economy. What is the economic benefit of this project to Nigeria. The Nigerian economy, as it is today, is not in a state to contain this kind of wasteful spending.”
