Amaechi Appeals To NASS To Complete $5.3bn Loan From China

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday appealed to the National Assembly to halt its questioning of Nigeria’s loan agreement with China.

Mr Amaechi said questions from the National Assembly is likely to deter China from extending credit to the country, especially the $5.3bn required for the Ibadan-Kano railway.

He made the remarks during an inspection tour of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail project which is being primarily financed by Chinese banks.

“They are not investigating corruption in construction,” Mr Amaechi said. “We want the National Assembly to allow us to get the loan for Ibadan to Kano, which is about $5.3bn.

“If you are telling the man who lent you money you don’t like the way he lent you, he won’t lend you any further.

“For this one (Lagos-Ibadan rail project), we have $1.6bn for which we are contributing about $200 and $300 million. But don’t forget, they have not finished paying, they can stop at any time.”

The House of Representatives had raised an alarm about the nature of loans received from China which, it said, puts the country’s sovereignty into question in the case of a re-payment default.

However, Mr Amaechi has insisted the loans, which are primarily spent on capital projects built by Chinese companies, will benefit the country.

Comments

EndSARS: Protesters In New York Want SARS Operatives Sacked

Hundreds of young anti-SARS protesters on Sunday stormed the Nigeria House in New York demanding transparency in the disbandment of the police unit back home. The protesters said operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad found wanting should be sacked and not redeployed. Among them was Stephen “Papi” Ojo, the artist, model, and choreographer who stole the show as the ‘blue-guy’ in Beyoncé’s “Already” music video. The protest started shortly after the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced the dissolution of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Adamu also announced plans for a new arrangement to address anticipated policing gaps following the disbandment, and the constitution of an investigative team to probe the alleged cases of rights violations, among others. But the protesters, who bore placards with different inscriptions including, “We no want audio ban”, said they were not buying it. They argued that previous commitments announced by the force to change...

How Soldiers Police Fled Abandoning Delta Community Residents During Bloody Robbery Incident

There was pandemonium in Issele-Uku branch, headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta state on Tuesday as some armed robbers attacked a branch of United Bank for Africa (UBA) in the town. A eyewitness said the robbers gained entrance into the bank after using explosives suspected to be dynamite to blast the bullet-proof door. According to the eyewitness, the robbers spent over one hour on the operation. He disclosed that no fewer than four persons were killed in the robbery attack. The eyewitness said security operatives around the area refused to show up until the robbers had left. “This attack is a reoccurring one in the community. Yesterday, they robbed for an hour and the police didn't show up, neither did the army nor the community vigilantes until they left, that was when they showed up as usual. “I counted about four bodies, the police station is about a minute drive from the scene of the robbery, while the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) orientation ...

Biden Announces Purchase Of 200M Vaccine Doses

President Joe Biden announced a series of measures on Tuesday aimed at ramping up coronavirus vaccine allocation and distribution, including the purchase of 200 million more vaccine doses and increased distribution to states by millions of doses next week. With those additional doses, Biden said there would be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans -- nearly the entire US population -- by the end of summer or early fall. He described efforts to combat Covid-19 as a "wartime undertaking." We now have a national strategy to beat Covid-19. It's comprehensive. It's based on science, not politics. It's based on truth, not denial, and it is detailed," he said. As part of the new efforts announced Tuesday, the US will buy 100 million more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 100 million more from Moderna -- the two-dose vaccines that have been granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer and Moderna are working to step up p...

ExtMedia

Search This Blog