Rail chief Opeifa says integrated transport will cut costs and lift Nigerian business
- NRC boss Kayode Opeifa says linking rail, road, ports and air would lower logistics costs and make Nigerian goods more competitive.
- He wants the rail network grown from about 4,000km to 10,000km in five years, with a long-term target of 20,000km.
- Other speakers at Lagos transport events put Nigeria's logistics losses at over ₦3.6 trillion and warned global shocks are pushing up fares and prices.
Nigeria's transport network works in pieces, and that fragmentation is costing businesses and households money, the head of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr Kayode Opeifa, said in Lagos.
Speaking at the BusinessDay Mobility and Logistics Conference at Four Points by Sheraton, Victoria Island, Opeifa said poor coordination across road, rail, sea and air transport brings congestion, higher logistics costs, delayed deliveries, lower productivity and more expensive goods.
His answer is an integrated system where each mode supports the others. Rail, he said, should not be seen as a rival to road, maritime or air transport.
"Rail should not be viewed as a competitor to road, maritime or air transportation, but each should continue to develop as complementary components of an effective integrated transport system," he said.
He argued that rail can move large volumes of passengers and cargo over long distances, ease pressure on highways and link seaports, industrial clusters, inland terminals and cities.
Big targets, long timeline
Opeifa said the NRC's plan, tagged Vision 2:5:10:20, aims to grow the rail network from about 4,000 kilometres to 10,000 kilometres within five years, and to about 20,000 kilometres over the long term.
He said immediate work includes getting more use out of the country's two old narrow-gauge lines and three standard-gauge lines, restoring capacity, expanding freight services and better connecting rail to ports and inland terminals.
On projects, he said efforts are underway to extend the standard-gauge line to Apapa Port and link it to Tin Can Island Port. The Kano–Maradi line is expected to be completed in 2027, he added, while plans are in place for a central corridor linking the Warri–Itakpe line to Abuja, a Marina–Lekki line, and support for the Kaduna–Kano inter-state train and Kano State's proposed intra-state rail service.
He also pointed to the NRC's track access policy, which lets private investors run passenger and freight services on the country's rail corridors.
At the same event, Dr Obiora Madu of the Africa Centre for Supply Chain estimated that Nigeria loses more than ₦3.6 trillion to inefficiencies and distortions in transport and logistics. He said small businesses will keep struggling without connected systems.
"We do not need digital islands, we do not need superlative infrastructure, what we need is connected systems," Madu said.
Ifeanyi Onwuachu of JanksMay Global Services said infrastructure gaps continue to hurt small operators in the sector.
What happens next
The rail expansion and port links Opeifa described depend on sustained investment and delivery over several years, and the NRC has not given a cost breakdown for the projects.
Separately, at the second Nigeria Transport Summit in Lagos, the Director-General of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Akutah Pius Ukeyima, said delays in cargo clearance, unpredictable port charges and weak coordination among stakeholders raise logistics costs and weaken Nigerian businesses. He called for evidence-based regulation and better links between ports, rail, inland waterways and roads.
The summit's convener, Pearl Ngwama, said global shocks are already reaching Nigerian pockets. She cited US Energy Information Administration data showing crude oil at $131 per barrel in mid-September 2026 after attacks on international energy infrastructure, and said higher fuel and insurance costs ultimately mean higher fares and more expensive goods.
