Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’id Ahmed Alkali, has been accused of diverting the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) from rehabilitating the Eastern railway narrow gauge track to his home state of Gombe, in the North Eastern Railway District.
CCECC was awarded the $3.02 billion Eastern Railway contract in 2021, covering the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the railway network from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, passing through 12 states.
The contractor reportedly completed the Port Harcourt to Aba section in November 2024 and handed it over to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) on November 29, 2024.
However, sources claim the Minister redirected the project to Gombe to strengthen his governorship ambitions for 2027.
The Minister had initially announced that the next phase of the project would cover Aba to Enugu. However, insiders allege that the contractor was instructed to bypass Umuahia, Enugu, and Makurdi and begin work on the Gombe-Bauchi line instead.
On November 29, 2024, Senator Alkali stated during the official handover of the completed Port Harcourt–Aba section of the Eastern Narrow-Gauge Railway Project to the Nigerian Railway Corporation that, “…from Aba, we are going to proceed to Enugu, and from Port Harcourt to Onne Port and Port Harcourt Port, so that we will be able to put freight service.”
However, sources told SaharaReporters that shortly after handing over the Port Harcourt segment to the NRC, the Minister swiftly redirected the project to his home state for political reasons.
“He pulled out the contractor and directed them to Gombe, his state, to start working on Gombe – Bauchi line with the aim of boosting his chances of governorship ambition in 2025,” said a source.
Another insider at the NRC said, “The information we got contrary to the Minister’s statement that the next segment is from Aba to Enugu, is that the contractor has been directed to jump Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, and relocate to Gombe to continue the reconstruction from Gombe to Bauchi segment.
“Culverts and bridges had been completed and stones had been put on the ground for the track to be laid. Everything to take it to Enugu has been completed – all earth work between Enugu and Aba have been completed. It is just to lay the track before they were directed to jump Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi and start at Gombe – Bauchi line.”
SaharaReporters’ investigation confirmed that the contractor, CCECC, has since abandoned the site.
The Eastern railway corridor or district spans exactly 310 kilometers and 10 poles from Kilometer 1 in Port Harcourt to Ogbede, the boundary between Enugu and Benue State. The distance from Port Harcourt to Enugu covers approximately 241 kilometers, while the Port Harcourt to Aba section measures only 62 kilometres.
“Because he wants to protect his governorship ambition, that is why he took the contract to his state,” one of the sources told SaharaReporters.
Senator Sa’id Ahmed Alkali was appointed Minister of Transportation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2023. Before this, he served as a Senator representing the Gombe North senatorial district and held various other political positions.
When SaharaReporters contacted the spokesperson of CCECC, Chief Emeka Nwachukwu, to inquire why the company had abandoned the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Eastern railway corridor despite completing all earthworks up to Enugu, he responded, “Ask the Ministry of Transportation or the Nigerian Railway Corporation. They are in a better position to answer your questions.”
When SaharaReporters contacted Janet McDickson, the Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Transport, for clarification, she said, “Bring official letter for your inquiry. Make it official. I don’t know who I am speaking with.”