Water shortage hits Abuja train station
…Toilets closed to passengers
Barely one week after the officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) were involved in ticket racketeering, the organization, this time, is grappling with shortage of water in its toilets at the Idu rail station, Abuja.
A visit by Daily Times to the Idu terminus in Abuja, showed that the toilets at the station were dried of water as cleaners prevented passengers from using the toilets especially the male toilets.
The situation in the station is particularly worrisome realizing that most Abuja air travelers have to use it enroute Kaduna where they have to board a flight because of the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
When our reporter got to one of the toilets in the train station, a female cleaner screamed, “Oga, you can’t use the toilet, there is no water.” When the correspondent prodded further, the lady said: “There is no water. The pipe is bad and they are working on it.”
The Idu rail station, though outwardly neat, is becoming less attractive as the cooling systems are not functioning.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna International airport was a beehive of activities as some airlines have introduced the use of POS to purchase flight tickets making it less cumbersome for intending passengers.
Vendors of all sorts have continued to display their wares in make-shift tents around the airport selling sachet water, drinks and food as passengers’ patronage increased on a daily basis.
There are very few organised shops at the terminal as shop owners are busy constructing their shops.
All the operating airlines have moved their personnel to Kaduna airport while senior officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria led by the Managing Director, Engr Saleh Dunoma, have equally relocated to the Kaduna airport.
An airport cab driver, Fatai Idowu, told Daily Times that activities at the airport have gradually picked up since Monday this week.
In a related development, 24 hours’ work has commenced on the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport, Abuja, as Julius Berger construction company has moved to site.
The project is expected to be completed within six weeks.
