NRC sacks, demotes staff for ticket racketeering

Staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation who were involved in ticket racketeering have been sacked and others have been demoted.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, disclosed this on Wednesday before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance while appearing at the 2024–2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) interactive session in Abuja.

Okhiria, who confirmed the ticket racketeering by members of staff in the corporation, said that those involved in the act have been sacked.

He added that some with fewer offences have been demoted. The chairman of the committee, Rep. James Faleke, had posed a question to the MD, saying, “Social media clips show how your staffers are engaging in ticket racketeering.”

Okhiria responded: “This is true, and the solution to that is e-ticketing, and the government has approved that.”

Meanwhile, the office of the Accountant General for the Federation said the NRC had only remitted N345 million in revenue for 2023.

It also added that the remittances covered January to September. Faleke, however, expressed worry about the revenue generated.

He said the concern is that if they expect so much revenue from NRC and nothing is coming, then there is a problem.

He stated that they should take the decision that the railway should self-fund, take care of their costs, and remit to the government the surplus.