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Amaechi Blasts Nigerians Misinterpreting ‘Waiving Sovereignty’ In $500m Chinese Loan

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Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has lambasted Nigetians didn’t understand that the clause ‘waiving sovereignty’ in the loan agreement between Nigeria and China is only a contract term.

According to the Minister, the clause is a sovereign guarantee that assures payback according to the terms and conditions of any loan.

Amaechi made the clarification while answering questions about the loan controversy on a TV programme, monitored by Grassroots.ng.

He argued that the Ministry of Transportation is only responsible for implementing projects and not taking loans

According to Amaechi, “it is a commercial agreement; a trade agreement between Nigeria and China. The first issue is that the Ministry of Transport does not take loan. Anything about loan, talk to Ministry of Finance.

“What I signed is what they call commercial contract; that is contract between the Federal Government and CCECC as a contractor.

“The contract between Nigeria and China is usually signed by the ministry of finance on behalf of Nigeria, but that will be escaping the issue.

“Whether it is the Ministry of Finance that signed it or the Ministry of Transport, the issues are the issues.

“There is no contract without an agreement and that agreement must contain some terms and one of the terms that this one contains is not that you’re signing away the sovereignty of the country.

“No country will sign away its sovereignty. What you do is, you give a sovereign guarantee; and I’m ashamed of those who interpret it the wrong way.

“Now, when you say ‘I give you a sovereign guarantee and I waive that immunity clause’, the immunity clause is that if tomorrow I’m not able to pay you and you come to collect the items that we’ve agreed upon (that these are items I have put down as guarantee), I can use my immunity and say no, you cannot touch our assets, we are a sovereign country.

“Is China our father that will give us money for free? They (the Chinese) are saying, if you are not able to pay, don’t stop us from taking back those items that will help us recover our funds.

“And it’s a standard clause, whether it’s with America you signed it or with Britain or any country, because they want to know they can recover their money.

“What the clause does is to say to you, I expect you to pay according to those terms and conditions. If you don’t pay, don’t throw your immunity on me (the lender) when I come to collect back the guarantee you put forward, that’s all.

“The waiving of immunity simply means in trade parlance that I’m not giving you this loan free.

“Just like if you go to take a loan from the bank, the moment you don’t pay, they go after the assets you put down. And people are politicising it. The Chinese can never come and take over Aso rock and become President or Minister.

“In the event of a default, Amaechi stated that the lender can only go after, and take back the same assets built with the loaned funds.

“And if the assets you put down become depreciated, then you negotiate which assets they can go after. The Chinese will never take over what was not constructed with the loan.”

Zambia’s fate fear

Allaying the fear of some Nigerians asking if it’s possible to repay the loan and not get into the same situation as Zambia, Amaechi stated that the loan was already being repaid.

“But we’re paying,” he said. “In the same National Assembly committee sitting, they were told that out of the 500 million dollars, we’ve paid 96 million dollars already.

“Nigeria is already paying. So, it’s not that Nigeria doesn’t have the capacity to pay back. We’ll pay back. At 2.8 percent, what other country would give you that loan? 2.8 per cent for 20 years with seven years moratorium; why can’t you pay back?

“The repayment plan is not done by us, it’s done by the ministry of finance, but they are meeting the requirements. At any point in time that we need to pay, we pay.”

The Minister further explained that the loans are not paid to him nor the Ministry, which automatically eliminates any fear of corruption or diversion of funds. They are paid directly to the contractor in China.

Amaechi also reiterated his call to the National Assembly to put a hold on the probe as some loans are still being expected for the completion of Lagos to Ibadan and the construction of Ibadan to Kano and Port Harcourt to Maiduguri rail.

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Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu Unveils First Set of Electric Buses In Lagos

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The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced the first set of electric buses for the state’s mass transit scheme.

Sanwo-Olu announced this on his Instagram page on Sunday, as he shared pictures of the buses.

He partly wrote, “I am excited to announce the first set of electric buses in the Lagos Mass transit master plan as part of our increased effort to modernise every sector of Lagos.

“Thanks to our partnership with #Oando_PLC, Lagosians can expect a cleaner and greener public transportation system.

“With the ability to travel 280 km at full charge, taking into account our unique travel times in Lagos, our electric buses are a game-changer.”

Here are pictures of the electric bus.

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Federal Executive Council Approve the sum of N453.90bn for Kano Rail Line under construction

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The Federal Executive Council has approved the sum of N453.90bn for the procurement of rolling stock, operation and maintenance equipment for the Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail line currently under construction.

The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday, March 22, after this week’s Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The approved sum also includes N510.93m meant for procuring four customised fire service/search and rescue vans in seaports at Port Harcourt, Lagos Port Complex, Tincan Island port and the Marina headquarters of the Nigerian Ports Authority.

The 248km rail line will traverses Kano, other cities such as Kazaure in Bauchi State, Daura and Mashi in Katsina State; Dutse in Jigawa State, the border town of Jibia, before terminating in Niger Republic’s trade and agricultural hub of Maradi.

According to a former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, the line has 15 stations along its path with a forecasted daily traffic of 9,364 passengers and approximately 3000 metric tons of cargo.

However, the project has been fraught with resistance, especially from lawmakers.

However, on Wednesday, Sambo said: “The memorandum sought council’s consideration and approval for the award of contract for the procurement of rolling stock, operation or maintenance equipment for the Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail line that is currently under construction.

“The contract was awarded to MSSRs Mota-Engil Nigeria Limited, who are the contractors handling this particular project in the sum of $984,722,302.5 inclusive of seven and a half per cent VAT with a completion period of four years.”

Sambo also revealed that the Transport ministry presented another memo on behalf of the Nigerian Ports Authority “for the award of contract for the construction and supply of four customised Fire Service search and rescue vans for extrication of accident victims for Rivers Ports in Port Harcourt, Lagos Port complex, Tincan Island Port and the Marina headquarters of the NPA, all in Lagos.

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BUA Group – FG Flag off N116B Road Construction in Kano

BUA Group and Federal Government have flagged off N116bn construction of 132Kilometres Kano-Kazaure-Kongolam dual carriage road under the Presidential Executive Order 007

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BUA
Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN); Group Executive Director, BUA Group, Kabiru Rabiu and Minister for State (Works & Housing), Hon. Umar Ibrahim El- Yakub at the official flag off of the N116billion, 132km Kano-Kongolam dual-carriage road being constructed by BUA Group under the Presidential Executive Order 007 yesterday in Kano.

BUA Group, one of Africa’s largest infrastructure conglomerates, has flagged off the expansion and dualization of the 132km Kano-Kazaure-Kongolam highway in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in line with the Presidential Executive Order 007 Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.

The 116billion Naira project was flagged-off by the Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, in a ceremony in Kazaure, Jigawa State, and will pass through Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states from Dawanau Roundabout in Kano State to Kongolam in Katsina State.

According to the Minister, BUA Group will be the sole financier of the project to dualize the 132 km road as part of its ongoing commitment to infrastructure development. Also present were the Honourable Minister for Water resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, and the minister of State for Works and Housing, Hon. Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub and various emirs.

Speaking at the official ceremony, Kabiru Rabiu, Group Executive Director of BUA Group, said that BUA remains committed to partnering with the Government on critical projects and initiatives that will fast-track human, social, and infrastructural development across the country. According to Rabiu, BUA Group which is solely financing the project, has already mobilized equipment to site and has the capacity, expertise, and resources to complete the road on schedule. He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing for approving the project and restated the Group’s commitment to delivering a dual carriage road that will rank amongst the best in Africa. According to Kabiru Rabiu, the dualization project which is being solely financed by BUA Group is a demonstration of BUA’s commitment to infrastructural development within Nigeria. He also commended the major roles played by the Minister of Works and Housing, Minister of water resources as well as the Minister of Finance and budget planning in actualizing the project.

In his speech, the Minister of Works and Housing, H.E Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), reiterated the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration towards infrastructural development.

According to Fashola, the 116billion Naira Kano-Kongolam highway which is being constructed by BUA Group with allied infrastructure, will complement the ongoing rail infrastructure projects of the federal government in the North West region of Nigeria, and also open up more economic opportunities for Nigeria and the greater West African region.

Fashola further stated that the best way to develop the country was through Public Community Private Partnership, (PCPP) given the ₦348trillion injection needed over a 10-year period to bridge the nation’s infrastructure gap.

Fashola further applauded the management of BUA Group for its continuous effort in infrastructural development and emphasized the need for the State Governors of Jigawa, Kano and Katsina and traditional institutions to remove all encumbrances on the Right-of-Way of the project so as to allow the Contractor have full access to the width of the carriageway for the continued execution of the project for which implementation has already commenced.

On this part, the Honourable Minister for State (works and Housing), Hon. Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub said, “It’s a very big project that traverses the 3 states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states. The project will further open up the country by enabling access to neighbouring countries i.e. Niger Republic via Katsina State. The road, when completed, will feature three bridges – Ungoggo Roundabout, Kazaure and Daura and also include pedestrian crossings at eight locations along the project corridor and solar street lights for safe driving during nighttime which will be critical to development in the three states. The Honourable Minister for Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, during his speech, urged the contractor, BUA Group, to ensure the highest quality in the construction process and adhere to responsible ESG practices throughout the lifetime of the project. “I am proud to be associated with this project which will have massive developmental impact on the people of Jigawa, Kano and Katsina states. The government will continue to support initiatives and partnerships such as this and we are certain this project and others of a similar nature, will help improve the economic status and quality of life of Nigerians”, he added.

The expanded Kano-Kongolam dual carriage highway upon completion, will connect three states namely; Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina and improve interstate travel, make it easier to trade goods and services between the three states, and serve as a major artery for intra-African trade.

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