Railway workers under the aegis of Nigerian Railway Corporation Workers’ Union have taken a swipe at the Minister of Transport, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo over his recent declaration that the Federal Government was planning to unbundle the corporation NRC, describing it as a political statement and absolutely mission impossible.

Recall that the Minister had Thursday, last week in Abuja, told members of the NRC Governing Board, who paid him a courtesy visit that the NRC cannot continue to be owner, operator and regulator at the same time, hence to unbundle it, insisting that the private sector, which is the engine of growth, would be brought in to operate its lines more efficiently.

Secretary General of the NRC Workers’ Union, Comrade Segun Esan, who spoke in an exclusive interview, disclosed that the union would deploy all available legal means to stop the proposed privatisation of the corporation, especially at this point in time, describing the plan as very unrealistic.

He wondered why a government, which has less than five months to the expiration of its eight-year tenure of office should contemplate the privatisation of a large organisation like the NRC, which he argued is an indication that the government has an ulterior motive, which should not be allowed to materialise anyway.

“Let us also look at this from this perspective; how can a government go cap-in-hand all over the world, borrow money, build the rail infrastructure, especially the standard gauges, buy the trains and decides to hand them over to private operators when the loans have not been paid back. This should tell every well- meaning Nigerian that something is wrong somewhere.

“It would look like a man, borrowing huge sums of money from all around the world, buy a car and only to sell the same car off when the investments have not been recouped and the loans still pending, that would definitely tell you that something might be wrong with a such man and that he needs help.

“Looking at it from the labour perspective, the government has not considered the three ‘M’ that make up the production value chain comprising the Man, Machine and Materials. The government has deliberately left out what will be the effect of such plan on the workforce (the man), who drives the entire process and who has persevered over the years to keep the corporation up and running.

“From the labour prisms also, we see it that the government is telling the large workforce of the NRC to be prepared to lose their jobs in the next five months or less and return to the labour market at this critical time, given what is happening in Nigeria’s economy and so we will not sit and allow that happen. We will therefore deploy every lawful means to ensure that this does not happen”, Comrade Esan lamented.

He noted that the matter is even made worse by the fact that the committee headed by the former Minister of State for Transport, Gbemi Saraki set up by the government to handle the proposed privatisation does not have any representative from the labour unions, which further indicates that the government’s intentions are questionable.

It was however gathered that the NRC Workers Union is concluding plans to convene a crucial meeting with all its affiliate unions as well as the umbrella body for all parastatals and other statutory bodies where all the issues relating to the unbundling proposal would be exhaustively discussed and official position made known to the government.

The Minister had while briefing the NRC Governing Board said that the decision to bring in private operators to run the rails while the NRC would be saddled with the regulatory functions was part of measures to make it effective and efficient and ultimately boost service delivery.

“We cannot have an agency that is owner, regulator and operator at the same time”, the Minister warned.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the NRC board, Engr. Ibrahim Alhassan Musa, while speaking during the visit, informed the Minister that due to the high cost of diesel, the cost of running the trains had gone so high, admitting, in fact that they are running at a loss.

He called on the Minister to intervene as railway service is one of the things the present administration prides itself of, especially the Lagos – Ibadan, the Warri – Itakpe and the Abuja-Kaduna railway lines.