- NRC to Resume Cattle Movement by Train
There are indications that the Nigerian Railway Corporation will resume the movement of cattle by train from the North to Lagos any time soon.
Since the cattle train was launched in September last year, about five trips had been undertaken with about 2,500 cows reportedly transported from the North to Lagos.
The train operation was suspended recently following some technical hitches, which made some cattle dealers to threaten to back out.
But the technical partner to the project, Connect Rail Service, said on Saturday that the matter was being resolved to pave the way for the return of the cattle train service.
The Chief Executive Officer, Connect Rail Service, Mr. Edeme Kelikume, said at a press conference in Lagos that the firm was meeting with all parties involved in the operation to hasten the resolution of the issue.
He insisted that the project had not been stopped, contrary to insinuations in some parts of the country.
He said neither the Federal Government nor any of its agencies involved in the operation had suspended the exercise, which he described as a laudable project recorded by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Kelikume, while responding to the reported misgivings by some cattle dealers on the project, admitted that there was a minor technical hitch.
He said that lack of communication aggravated the problem, which prompted the cattle dealers to kick against the project.
Ahead of the resumption of the cattle train service, he said arrangements were being made to put veterinary doctors in each train to attend to the cows, just as he said the Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending would ensure adequate insurance package for the operation.
He said the hitches were not unexpected since the haulage operation of cattle by rail had never been done in the last 30 years.
“Efforts are being made to perfect those hitches to ensure sustainable and smooth operations of the cattle by rail initiative,” he said.
