Some Nigerians have expressed displeasure over the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ministry of transportation and MPH Rail Development Limited.
The company, registered in the UK, is expected to manage the design, construction, commissioning, operation, and eventual transfer of the Port Harcourt-Enugu-Calabar-Abuja standard gauge rail line.
“The Minister of Transportation, Said Alkali on behalf of @NigeriaGov has signed an MoU with Messrs MPH Rail Development (UK) Limited for the design, construction, operation & transfer of the Port Harcourt–Enugu –Calabar–Abuja SGR Line on a PPP basis,” the ministry wrote on its X page.
The ministry said the signing followed the approval of the outline business case and the issuance of a compliance certificate by the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
This clearance, the ministry said, enables the firm to focus on compiling the necessary documentation for the federal executive council’s (FEC) approval to advance the project.
In another statement, the ministry said vital documents required for the project’s progression include a comprehensive feasibility study report, a complete business case study, an environmental and social impact assessment, the development of a resettlement action plan, and the formulation of a financial model to facilitate project implementation.
The ministry said this would ensure the transfer of the project to the government under a PPP arrangement without incurring loans or debts for the Nigerian government.
However, social media users have knocked the agency for signing an MoU with a company that was only incorporated less than five years ago — September 26, 2019.
Others have described it as a “PI&D (sic) saga in the making”, adding that a project of such magnitude should not be entrusted to a young company of unknown history.
Checks by TheCable confirmed that the company was formed by one Andrew James, a British citizen, in 2019 and went on without any relationship with the Nigerian government or private sector untill August 24, 2023, when the company appointed Osinowo Rotimi as the first director with a Nigerian background.
Subsequently, Osinowo Sayeed was also appointed as a director in January 2024.
Further checks showed that the company had filed as a dormant organisation three times since its registration in 2019.
Other discrepancies pointed out by disgruntled Nigerians are that the company, since its incorporation in 2019, has no track record of engaging in any rail construction business and lacks a website.
