For residents of Lagos and Ibadan, indeed, the good times are here. Thanks to the President Muhammadu Buhari government, a modern high-speed rail system will be built from Lagos, the  country’s commercial capital, to Ibadan, one of Africa’s largest cities. The federal government has since released N72 billion counterpart funding for the constuction of the railway project.
Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, made this known at the quarterly Presidential Business Forum which was presided over by Yemi Osinbajo, vice-president at the Presidential Banquet Hall, Abuja, on Monday.
The Lagos-Ibadan rail project which was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, is to cost $1.5 billion, about N458 billion.
Amaechi noted Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, has ensured that the counterpart funds for the project was released in full. “I think in the history of Nigeria this is the first time that we are releasing counterpart funding in full so that there will be no delay, since the Chinese loan appears to have been approved. The only thing we need to do, I thank God there is somebody from the National Assembly is to plead with the National Assembly,” said Amaechi.