FG To Apply For $11bn Loan To Construct Lagos-Calabar Rail Line

FG To Apply For $11bn Loan To Construct Lagos-Calabar Rail Line — Amaechi

Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, said, yesterday, that the Federal Government was set to apply for a $11billion loan to construct Lagos to Calabar rail.

Amaechi made the disclosur y during an interactive session with the South-East and South-South Professionals of Nigeria, SESSPN, in Lagos.

The group had taken advantage of the Minister’s presence in Lagos to hold talks with him on challenges facing the regions, particularly in the areas of security, power, social integration and representation in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

Amaechi on why railway work was yet to commence in the South-East, said, “I hate tribalism. I’ve said this before. For me, I’m a Nigerian, and what informs my decision of choosing which rail line to construct at any point in time, is the economics of rail; and currently, the economics shows that Lagos to Kano has the capacity to move 30 million tonnes of cargo per year.

“I did same analysis for Port Harcourt to Maiduguri rail line and it’s 11 million tonnes. We are currently doing the analysis for Lagos to Calabar to know how many tonnes of cargo can be moved there per year. So, we started with the Lagos to Kano rail line. President Olusegun Obasanjo approved it, President Jonathan started construction on it by doing Abuja to Kaduna and President Buhari told us to complete all previous projects.

“Now, we are applying for $11billion loan to construct Lagos to Calabar rail. There was no design for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. We knew that the first thing to do was to commence a feasibility study, after that, we’ll do the design. It’s now they’ll start to do the site drawing. In the next three months, they will be doing that, you’ll start shouting again: why are they not constructing? You forget that Ibadan to Kano, they are just finishing the design now, that’s why they’ve not started construction.

“The President told us that all rail lines in Nigeria must be standard gauge. So, we did a standard gauge design for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line. We went to Bonny to do the study and we did that study up to Maiduguri. I did a feasibility study that brought it between $14 billion to $11 billion.

“When we finished, we got approval from the President, but I realised that we may not get the money in this government. I changed my course, and I said, while we are looking for money for the standard gauge for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, let me ask for money to reconstruct the narrow-gauge at $3.1 billion. And the President after much argument, accepted. After sometime, he agreed, that we can proceed with the narrow-gauge, while seeking money to construct the standard gauge”.

$114.28m COVID-19 loan: SERAP asks World Bank to make Nigeria ‘publicly commit to transparency’

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the World Bank President Mr David Malpass, urging him to use his “good offices to encourage the Federal Government and 36 state governments to publicly commit to transparency and accountability in the spending of the $114.28m credit and grant for COVID-19, which the Bank’s Board of Directors recently approved for Nigeria, including by publishing details on a dedicated websit". SERAP also urged Mr Malpass to “put pressure on authorities and the 36 state governors to accept voluntary scrutiny by Nigerians and civil society regarding the spending of the funds and use of the resources, including on how they will spend the money to buy medical equipment, and improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene" The World Bank Board of Directors last Friday approved a $114.28 financing “to help Nigeria prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 with a specific focus on state level...

Two Suspected Robbers Burnt To Death By Angry Mob Over Attempt To Steal Tricycle In Anambra

Two yet-to-be identified men have been burnt by some angry youths around Ekwusigo, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. They were allegedly caught while they were attempting to steal a tricycle, popularly known as Keke Napep, from its owner. This caught the attention of some people who mobbed and started beating them. The two were beaten to a pulp before they were later burnt to death. Details of the incident were still sketchy as at the time of filing the report.

Shocking pictures of ghost town in Aba, Abia state

Many react as the ever busy Aba market blew dry as citizens massively obey the sit-at-home ordered by the angry Indigenous people of Biafra. From the pictures evidence you can see how deserted the roads looks and how shops are closed up. Contrary to a story that went wild yesterday on the internet Concerning the IPOB canceling the sit!-at-home order, came another which clearly debunked the cancellation of the sit-at-home order as propaganda. According to the Indigenous people of Biafra, the sit-at-home must continue to be observed every Monday until Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is unconditionally release from the DSS custody.

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