Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north and former
national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), will chair the
committee.

Other members are Hussaini Babangida (Jigawa north-west),
Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia south), Adamu Aliero (Kebbi central), Wasiu Eshinlokun
(Lagos central), Osita Ngwu (Enugu west), Solomon Adeola (Ogun west), Ibrahim
Dankwabo (Gombe central), Ireti Kingibe (FCT), Ede Dafinone (Delta central) and
Sahabi Yau (Zamfara north).

The committee is expected to submit its report within four
weeks.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Dafinone, who
raised the alarm over what he described as “disturbing and persistent technical
breakdowns” on the Itakpe–Warri rail corridor.

The lawmaker said the line, inaugurated a few years ago with
“great national fanfare”, had become a source of embarrassment and danger due
to frequent derailments and service disruptions.

He noted that the corridor recorded no fewer than 10
derailments and several breakdowns between 2023 and 2025, which, according to
him, are incidents that have endangered passengers and eroded public confidence
in the nation’s rail system.

Dafinone urged the federal ministry of transportation and
the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to undertake an independent technical
assessment of the line to identify the causes of the failures and implement
corrective measures.

He also recommended that the NRC increase operational
capacity, deploy more coaches, and ensure at least two passenger services daily
between Ujevwu and Itakpe.

Supporting the motion, Abdul Ningi, a senator representing
Bauchi central, described the situation as “a national embarrassment”.

“The government borrowed billions of dollars to construct
these lines, yet they are collapsing barely two years after completion,” Ningi
said.

“This is not about politics. We must hold those responsible
accountable for negligence and mismanagement.”

Patrick Ndubueze, senator representing Imo north, called for
a complete reorganisation of the NRC, saying the corporation “is no longer fit
for purpose”.

“Our highways are failing because freight that should move
by rail is transported by road,” he said.

“Fixing the railways will save lives and preserve our
roads.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio accused those who managed
the railway projects under Buhari of gross incompetence and deceit.

“You’ll be shocked that the same people who did this were
lying,” Akpabio said.

“They are the same people now seeking to take back the
government by revolution—without remorse, without answering questions—after
leaving this kind of mess behind, with the amount of indebtedness they caused
the country.”

He questioned how a project that cost “trillions of naira”
could begin to fail within months of inauguration.

“You spend trillions on rail lines, you commission them, and
within one year you have all sorts of mechanical faults,” he said.

“We must find out whether these were truly new lines or
refurbished scraps bought and repainted as new. Nigerians deserve to know the
truth.”

Akpabio compared the situation to similar projects abroad
built by the same contractors that remain functional decades later, describing
Nigeria’s case as “a tragic symbol of corruption and poor oversight.”

He clarified that most derailments recorded between 2023 and
2024 occurred before President Bola Tinubu assumed office.

“These derailments started before we came. This government
inherited a failed system,” Akpabio said.

At the end of the debate, the senate mandated the ministry
of transportation and NRC to repair the Itakpe–Warri rail line, improve safety
measures, and deploy additional rolling stock.

The upper chamber also empowered its committee on land
transport to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the affected routes and
submit a detailed technical report.

It further resolved to investigate all railway projects
executed during the Buhari administration—including funding sources, contract
awards, and construction standards—and endorsed the creation of a National Rail
Safety and Standards Unit.

Akpabio vowed that the senate would “dig deep, expose
corruption, and ensure that those who mismanaged Nigeria’s rail projects are
held to account”.

“We owe Nigerians the truth,” he said.

“We must unravel the mystery behind these failing rail lines
and ensure that those who ruined them do not escape scrutiny or return to power
to repeat the same mistakes.”