The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced plans to soon resume the transportation of livestock from the northern to southern regions of the country.
The service, which was suspended in 2017 due to technical issues, will be reinitiated via the Warri-Itakpe route.
However, the managing director, NRC, Fidet Okhiria revealed this on Wednesday during an appearance on TV.
He noted that the NRC is working to modernise the transportation of livestock and goods, emphasising the use of rail to complement road transport from the north to the south-south Warri area.
On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu hinted at the possibility of creating a Ministry of Livestock Development, further highlighting the government’s focus on enhancing the livestock sector.
Okhiria stated that the NRC has procured and is currently assembling wagons designed for livestock transport in the Kajola area of Oyo State.
“We’ve built 15 wagons for livestock and maybe in the next month or two, they will be deployed from Itakpe to Warri to drive the economy,” he said.
He underscored the importance of prioritising the wellbeing of people over profit in railway investments, suggesting that economic benefits would follow as goods and cities become more interconnected.
“You are not developing transportation because you want to make a profit in terms of naira and kobo, but the profit will come indirectly if we can move goods and link cities,” Okhiria added.