Erstwhile Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa has pleaded with the executive and legislative arms of government to avoid politicising the Calabar-Lagos rail project, stressing that President Muhammadu Buhari should be encouraged to develop the Niger Delta region.
In a statement she issued yesterday, Ita-Giwa described the controversy over the project as unnecessary, adding that the rail line when completed would have a positive impact on the economy of the South-South region.
Lamenting that the geopolitical zone has suffered enough, she said: “The Calabar-Lagos rail project is a significant one that must not be trivialized or politicized because it has the potential of opening up the economy of the South-South region.
“I am, therefore, urging my colleagues in the Senate and the executive arms to ensure that the project is included and adequately catered for in the budget because it will serve the common good and will complement the Cross River State Deep Sea Port.
“I also want to advise my colleagues to guide and keep an eagle eye on all projects earmarked for their constituents. Only through that can they be called good representatives. The region has suffered enough. Buhari should be encouraged to deliver dividends of democracy to the area even beyond the rail project.”
