The Senate has considered the report of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1955 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2015, which was referred to its Committee on Land Transport after its second reading on 6th October 2016.
Presenting the report, Sen. Gbenga Ashafa (APC:Lagos), Chairman Committee on Land Transport noted that the Bill seeks to boost the transport sector through the provision of an efficient railway service. He also noted that a public hearing was conducted on 25thApril 2016 to consider the opinions of various stakeholders and professionals in the railway sector after which a technical committee was set up to consider their input.
According to the Chairman, although there was a general consensus by several stakeholders in the public hearing that private participation in the railway sector was welcome, it was generally observed that the structure of the Bill was at variance with its objectives and that its provisions were insufficient to transform the railway sector. Therefore a total overhaul of the Bill was proposed to bring it in consonance with global best practice.
Other important observations by stakeholders at the hearing included:
- That the issue of the Nigerian Railway Corporation being an operator and regulator should be looked into.
- That separate roles for the operator and the regulator should be provided in the Bill. For example, it was proposed that the operator should have the power to grant licenses and concessions while the regulator should be concerned with the establishment of public monopoly.
- That there was need to establish a National Transport Commission as a regulator
The Chairman informed the Senate that following these recommendations the committee restructured and resubmitted the Bill to the Senate as the Nigerian Railway Bill, 2016.
Speaking on the report, Sen. Barnabas Gemade (APC:Benue) suggested that a consideration of the Nigerian Railway Bill, 2016 was better examined together with the existing National Transport Commission Bill, 2016 since the transport sector is expansive.
The Senate will now consider the Bill at a later date following its adoption of Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa‘s (PDP:Abia) suggestion that further consideration was necessary as its contents had changed.
