Some female staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have urged the Transport Ministry to engage more women engineers to participate in the revival of rail transport in the country.
The women are under the auspices of Women In Railways (WIRAIL).
Mrs Monsurat Omotayo, Chairman of the group told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that they had many highly qualified and competent Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineers who could help to revamp rail transportation.
She said that they had been neglected over the years without recourse to their capability in facilitating growth in the corporation.
According to her, the dream of revamping the railway will be difficult to attain without the participation of women.
“Women are indispensable and no one should ignore their capability in any sector; so we want to implore our minister to consider the women in rail sector.
“Women have the will and capacity to move the rail transport forward,’’ she said.
Omotayo noted that the welfare of women should be given priority, stressing that an appreciable number of staff of NRC were women.
Mrs Monica Nnodi, the Coordinator of WIRAIL stressed the need for more women to hold key positions for effective implementation of policies capable of moving the rail transport forward.
Nnodi said: “Gone are the days that women in railways are only clerks and secretaries; many women are now doctors, lawyers and engineers with experience to bring railway to international standards.”
The coordinator, a Director of Administration and Human Resources in the corporation said she was optimistic that women could move trains from Lagos to Kano.