Thread by @toluogunlesi

Let’s clear some things:

Contract originally awarded 2012, for completion in 36 mths. Nothing was done till that Govt left

PMB admin
-reactivated project 2016
-awarded extension to Apapa Port 2016
-paid counterpart funding of N72b Jan 2017

VP flagged off construction Mar 2017

#LagosIbadanRail was a major item on the President’s agenda when he paid a State Visit to China #PMBinChina in April 2016 - the first sub-Saharan Head of State invited to China after the Joburg FOCAC in Dec 2015. Budget Min Udoma followed up with a China visit in July 2016.

The original (unfulfilled) #LagosIbadanRail contract awarded 2012 covered only Ebute-Meta to Ibadan. It was the Buhari Admin that awarded on Nov 30, 2016 an addendum to the contract, extending it to Lagos Port complex in Apapa. Cos PMB insists all Rail should terminate in Ports.

Very early in 2017, @FinMinNigeria paid on behalf of @NigeriaGov the required Counterpart funding of 15% of project cost to the China Exim Bank. Came to about 72 billion Naira. #LagosIbadanRail

On that glorious Tue morning of March 7, 2017, @ProfOsinbajo (Acting President at the time) flagged off construction at the Railway Yard in Ebute Meta. “If there’s a project close to PMB heart, it’s this!”

I attended the event, and we made this video: https://t.co/SfJCcp6x05

3 years & 3 weeks after @ProfOsinbajo flagged off construction of #LagosIbadanRail on behalf of @MBuhari, the contractors, @CCECC8, made this delightful announcement (“A stunning victory!”), just as disruptive impact of Covid-19 began to be felt worldwide: https://t.co/cNvSJQa2I9

All things being equal, commercial operations on the #LagosIbadanRail Line will start on or before Q4 2020. One of the Line’s crown jewels will be the Station in Ebute Meta, with a capacity for 6,000 passengers at any point in time: https://t.co/gIvhQI2qhK

The End l’opin Cinema. Thanks and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. //