Abuja-Kaduna Rail: El-Rufai Schools Ben Bruce

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has faulted the claim of Senator Ben Murray Bruce that President Muhammadu Buhari should give credit to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for a train ride he took to Kaduna.

Governor El-Rufai has blasted Ben Bruce for feeding the public with wrong information over the Abuja-Kaduna section of Lagos-Kano dual track-standard gauge rail system.

The Kaduna governor said the credit for the rail line should go to former president Olusegun Obasanjo and not the immediate past president.

President Buhari was on Thursday inaugurated 10 new coaches and two locomotives for the Kaduna–Abuja train service at Rigasa train station in Kaduna.

He later took a train ride from Rigasa to Kakuri on the outskirts of Kaduna to inaugurate Nigeria’s first Inland Dry Port in Kaduna.

In a tweet on Thursday, Bruce said Jonathan is responsible for the actualisation of the Kaduna rail project.

“I hope President Muhammadu Buhari remembers to say thank you to former President Goodluck Jonathan for the train ride he enjoyed in Kaduna,” the tweet read.

“Some of us haven’t forgotten that that achievement was entirely the handiwork of the Jonathan government.

“Nigeria should give honour to whom honour is due.”

But in a response to Ben Bruce’s tweet, Governor El Rufai schooled the Senator representing Bayelsa East. “Wrong, Distinuguisnhed Senator!

“The Obasanjo administration which Jonathan was not part of, designed, raised the financing and started the EPC of the Lagos-Kano dual track-standard gauge rail system, and the Abuja Light Rail. Yar’Adua-Jonathan stalled both projects for two years!” El-Rufai tweeted.