20/04/2026
💫 NRC Joins the Self-Sufficient Club
There’s rare good news when a Federal Government agency stops relying on annual handouts to survive.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has now entered that small circle of self-sustaining agencies. It no longer needs the yearly “oxygen” of budgetary allocation to stay alive. Only two other federal bodies have achieved this in the past decade: JAMB and NIMASA.
Under Managing Director Dr. Kayode Opeifa, the NRC has posted a strong 2025 performance report with two highlights: rising passenger numbers and a cargo boom.
💫Revenue beats target
The corporation generated ₦7.46 billion in 2025, surpassing its ₦7 billion target by 11 percent. The biggest driver was freight. Cargo revenue hit ₦3.02 billion — nearly ten times the ₦347.8 million recorded in 2021.
That growth reflects expanded services linking port terminals to inland depots, plus bulk haulage of cement, steel, and other industrial inputs. As Opeifa put it, “Rail freight is returning as a major force in Nigeria’s transport economy.” Manufacturers and state governments are increasingly shifting heavy goods back to rail, aided by better pricing, improved use of rolling stock, and strong demand on busy routes.
💫Passengers return despite setbacks
Passenger confidence is also rebounding. Even with disruptions from climate-related damage, people are choosing rail again. The Lagos-Kano narrow gauge line suffered washouts at Dagbolu, Arogbo, and Ikirun in Osun State, cutting Lafarge’s cement movement to Ilorin. In June 2025, flooding at Mokwa destroyed 500 metres of track, disrupting northwest and southwest corridors. The Warri-Itakpe line was shut for 60 days for safety repairs, while the Abuja-Kaduna route was down for 30 days in August. There was also track damage at Asham in Benue State.
Yet passenger numbers held steady, suggesting that insecurity has not deterred rail travel as much as feared. In 2023, passenger traffic fell from 3.21 million to 2.18 million, but revenue still climbed to ₦5.17 billion.
💫 The bigger funding picture
Between 2010 and 2025, the government appropriated ₦330.8 billion for NRC capital projects but released only ₦102.3 billion — roughly 31 percent. That gap underscores why sustainable operations matter.
💫 As Dr. Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, DG of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, noted in September 2025: “Nigeria needs significant and sustained investment in transport infrastructure, including rail, to bridge the existing gaps; without this, long-term growth prospects for freight and other modes remain constrained.”
💫 Leadership makes the difference
The right appointment can turn an agency around. Professor Ishaq Oloyede transformed JAMB from a loss-making body into a revenue powerhouse. Dakuku Peterside did the same for NIMASA. Dr Kayode Opeifa is now doing it for the NRC, even though the corporation had been moribund for decades before the Buhari administration revived it.
For once, an institution that symbolized decay is now showing signs of real prosperity. And that’s worth celebrating.