Passengers lament stoppage of Abuja/Kaduna train service over strike

Passengers plying the Abuja-Kaduna train on Sunday expressed disappointment over stoppage of the service.

The train service was stopped due to the nationwide warning strike embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Some of the passengers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said they were aware of the strike but never expected that it would affect the movement of people either by rail or flight.

Mohammed Abdullahi, a passenger at the Idu station, said because of the strike, he wanted to use the train to travel and spend time with his family but unfortunately it was not operational.

He said the essence of the strike was to allow government yield to the demands of workers but if the same workers were affected by the strike it was not fair enough.

Mr Justice Aba, a business man, commended NLC for wanting the government to do the needful, but said there were some sensitive sectors that should be excluded from the strike to save lives.

He said other unions could fight the cause for every other workers but for the sake of not losing loved ones, some sectors like the railway could render skeletal services pending when the matter was resolved.

Aba said those working in the medical profession, transportation sector should have special incentives to allow them function during strike, which could also affect the less privileged in the society.

He said due to the bad roads, a lot of passengers would not like to travel by road to Kaduna because the train was a huge relief in the face of security challenges on the road.

“I think NLC should look for better ways or alternative ways to exclude some sectors like the health and transport sectors from the strike.

“Some people will lose their lives in the process of trying to get some things from the government and the poor people will suffer, especially the ones who can’t afford a private hospital.

“I feel skeletal services should be rendered in some sector, so that we won’t have to also suffer.”

Joy Agbede, another passenger complained that train was an essential service needed at all time by the masses.

She said the train would have been able to assist people get to their destinations during this period of the strike because it was the safest means of transportation.

Agbede said she never expected that the train would also be affected by the strike, calling on government to go into dialogue and resolve the issue at hand. (NAN)