We’re applying for more loans from China- Amaechi
Federal Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the National Assembly to look away from probing the terms and conditions of Nigeria’s current debt to China, as this may affect China’s disposition to further grant Nigeria more loans, which is already being set in motion.
“The reason why I said that is because we have already applied for $5.3billion to execute the rail from Ibadan to Kano” Amaechi said in an interview.
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“We are about applying for about $3billion to execute the rail from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
“Don’t forget the National Assembly approved that loan. It is unconstitutional and impeachable if you take a loan without the approval of the National Assembly”
“If I am the lender, I will be worried. If they get worried, they will say ‘No, we will not approve the remaining loans you have applied for,” he added.
The debate sorrounding Nigeria’s indebtedness to China has been in the spotlight in recent memory following the emergence of shocking details of the agreement which cedes a significant fraction of Nigeria’s sovereignty to the Chinese. The clause in the contract reads
“The borrower hereby irrevocably provides waives any immunity on the grounds of sovereign or otherwise for itself or its property in connection with any arbitration pursuit to Article 85 thereof with the enforcement of any arbitral award pursuit thereto except for the military asset and diplomatic asset.”
Nigeria is already buried in a pile of debts to several foreign countries, which has sparked calls from some quarters of the society for the Federal Government to desist from taking more loans for the sake of our collective future. Only recently, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to the Federal High Court, Abuja, demanding for the President to Publish details of all Government loans obtained since assumption of office in 2015.
