The Railway Property Management Company Limited, RPMC Ltd has revealed that it has commenced property and tenant audit to investigate and recover all unlawfully inhabited railway lands nationwide.
RPMC is a subsidiary of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC and is charge of managing all lands and landed assets of the NRC.
The managing director of RPMC, Timothy Zalanga, has meanwhile stated that the operation was aimed at auditing land to determine the number of properties and tenants under its jurisdiction for effective management.
In addition to this, Zalanga had stated that a task force set up by the management of the company had been drafted to carry out a nationwide audit to recover lands whose records had gotten lost over the years.
Zalanga also added that the audit had not been done for a long time, therefore an exercise needed to be done to substantiate their records.
In that same vein, he had issued a warning to those inhabiting railway lands and properties illegally, to clear the area.
“Railway is back to serve Nigerians, and the overall interest of Nigerian people is bigger than that of an individual.” He had said.
It seems that that the federal government is determined to revive railway operations nationwide.
It has been suggested that the near-failure of the railway sector in Nigeria has been attributed to the failure of railway operators to easily manage the capital intensity, structural complexity as well as the intellectual expertise obligated for not just its build, but it’s profitable and sustainable maintenance.
One hopes that the government gets it right this time, and that proper planning and evaluation has also been considered for the railway revival this time.
