The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Kayode Opeifa, says he has taken full responsibility for Tuesday’s derailment of the Abuja-Kaduna train.
Opeifa stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s programme The Morning Brief, where he also assured Nigerians that the incident would be thoroughly investigated and not swept under the carpet.
“Let me say, beyond apologising to Nigeria, I want to say as the Managing Director and Chief Executive, I take full responsibility. And in the case of safety, there is no indifference. Once it happens, the Chief Executive must take responsibility. In this case, I am taking responsibility,” he said.
The NRC boss noted that while the derailment should not have occurred, the corporation is taking steps to ensure such incidents do not happen again.
“I want to assure Nigerians that an incident like this is not expected, is not prayed for, should not be happening, but where it does, it is to bring out the best in us,” Opeifa added.
He explained that similar precautionary measures had been taken on the Warri-Itakpe route, which was shut down three weeks ago for repairs after safety concerns were identified.
According to him, engineers had cut off and replaced parts of the track to strengthen the corridor and guarantee passenger safety.
The derailment occurred at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, shortly after the train left Abuja for Kaduna.
