The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the country has led to the suspension of Lagos-Ibadan rail line inauguration.
Amaechi lamented that most of the staff working on the project contracted COVID-19, hence the inauguration was suspended.
Speaking in Abuja, the Minister said the workers contracted the virus while trying to complete the project, NAN reports.
Amaechi said: “First let us admit that over 60 of our staff, not the ministry of transport staff, but the staff working on the rail project have been infected by COVID-19. Luckily nobody has died and I pray nobody will die, but you see the kind of sacrifice everybody is making to get the rail to function.
“They are people sacrificing their lives to get to that point, we were of the view that when we made that decision that Nigeria will not say 2020 was a bad year, so remove one year and add another year to the Buhari administration.
“The timeline for the inauguration will depend on COVID-19. If COVID-19 stops today or reduces we will commission the project.”
Lagos-Ibadan rail line: How COVID-19 stalled inauguration of project – Amaechi
