The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Fidet Okhiria, has stated that their revenue was reduced because of insecurity.
He stated this while speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance during an interactive session on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The remark followed the revelation by the office of the Accountant General for the Federation that NRC had only remitted N2.3bn in revenue in H1,for 2023, covering January to September, which the committee members frowned at.
Chairman of the Committee, James Faleke (APC, Lagos) expressed concern about the shortfall in the expected NRC revenue.
He suggested that the NRC Act should be amended and be made a self-funding agency while taking care of their operating costs and remitting any surplus to the government.
However, the MD while explaining the situation said that insecurity has affected their operations as their schedules had already been reduced, especially on the Abuja-Kaduna route.
He further noted that passengers’ volume has reduced and the cost of diesel has gone up as such, they have to adjust since they have not increased their fares.
On the video clips showing NRC staffers engaging in ticket racketeering, Okhiria said the matter had been investigated and appropriate sanctions meted out against the staff involved, adding that e-ticketing had been introduced.
