The $1.3 billion Abuja Light Rail which suspended operations during the COVID-19 lockdown and left moribund has been vandalised.

Experts who spoke with ThisNigeria over the weekend said the negligence was responsible for the theft and vandalisation.

The FCT authorities and the relevant secretariat seem to have forgotten that there was a rail system in the nation’s capital, however, when the new Mandate Secretary for FCT Transportation, Abdullahi Adamu Candido, resumed duty, he embarked on a tour of facilities and was confronted with the challenges of vandalised infrastructure and facilities at rail terminals.

Some of the vandalised facilities include rail tracks, signalling and communication equipment made up of sensitive cables and fittings, generating sets, and air-conditioning systems, among several others.

The Mandate Secretary on his first tour of the facility accused the Chinese company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) of causing the thefts and vandalisation of the facility.

When contacted, a management staff of CCECC, Lee Chu said he was not authorised to speak with the press as the company is dealing directly with the FCT Administration and the Nigerian government.

Chu, however, noted that a response to that accusation had been forwarded to the appropriate authorities.

He noted that the company was not responsible for deploying Nigerian security forces. Besides operations, the facility had since been handed over to the FCT Administration, and they were concerned with minimal operational activities.

But a retired FCDA staff, Olisemaka Emeka, who claimed to be part of the rail project from its inception lamented the nonchalance of the FCT Administration and accused them of negligence.

He said trading blames would not work as the simple thing to do was to take responsibility and provide security for critical infrastructure like the rail facility.

He challenged the FCT administration of abandoning its duty of safeguarding the rail facility.

For those of them who worked tirelessly for the project to see the light of day, it is painful to hear excuses, he lamented.

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“It’s not too much for the government to provide security for such critical infrastructure as the Abuja Light Rail. It is sad to hear that all we toiled for have been vandalised and no one is taking responsibility,” Emeka noted.

On the side of the Chinese company, Emeka said they should have also taken responsibility as they have not handed over the project completely.

He noted that some of the communication equipment are world-class facilities and installed in intricate locations that would require good knowledge to dismantle.

“I am not accusing anybody here, some of the equipment like the communication facilities are works class and intricately  installed, so tell me who are those who have the technical expertise to uncouple them, where are they selling them, and to who?” Emeka asked.

Emeka noted that if the administration was not negligent, the situation would not have occurred.

Another transportation expert, who felt the same way, Bassey Edet, said he retired from the Federal Ministry of Transportation in 2016 and went ahead to underscore the importance of rail mass movement to the economy.

He said the man-hour wasted on the roads to and from work daily in the FCT that make staff and other businesses less productive could be averted with a good rail mass transit system.

He urged the government to expedite action in fixing the vandalised equipment and as well consider, very soon more rail lines in the FCT as Nigeria is mature enough for proper rail transportation for its capital.

Edet said the issue of funding more rail projects for the FCT shouldn’t be anything to worry about as the viability of the project was not in question. He said the government should borrow as it has always done on other projects and invest in more rail facilities in the nation’s capital as it can repay the loan in record time.

“It is unfortunate that critical infrastructure like the Abuja rail system would be allowed to be vandalised.

“The FCT is in critical need of a viable transportation system or any means of mass movement. Daily, Nigerians are seen in traffic gridlocks suffering to and from work.

There are no affordable public mass transit systems on any route, yet the Abuja Light Rail that would have come to the rescue of just a few from the City Centre to the Kubwa axis and the airport, all we hear is that all of these have all been vandalised,” he said.

However, Mandate Secretary, Transportation Secretariat is promising hard times for vandals and thieves who may wish to continue in the act.

To this effect, a new contract has been signed with two security firms.

Candido observed a show of strength and a guard of honour to ascertain their preparedness to safeguard the facility going forward.