Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of transportation, has said that the “selfishness” of some lawmakers which resulted in a probe on the details of a 2018 Chinese loan agreement has negatively affected the country.
It was widely reported that in July 2020, a house of representatives panel had raised the alarm over clauses conceding Nigeria’s sovereignty to China in a loan agreement.
The probe dragged on for weeks despite assurances from Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, that the federal government will work in the best interest of Nigerians while Amaechi had also warned that the investigation may affect Nigeria’s chances when it comes to loans.
Giving an update on the situation on Monday, March 31, 2020, when he featured on a Channels Television programme, Amaechi said the probe resulted in seven months of “waste”, as the approval process was delayed.
“That’s where we are. The loan for Ibadan to Kano, up till now we haven’t gotten approval and at the point that happened, we were just on the verge of getting approval. They withdrew. They aree asking more questions,” the minister said.
“The two things I said at that meeting are happening now. There are other countries we have loan agreements with that we entered into agreement to borrow money from. They don’t usually ask for immunity clause because they trust you. So, they expect that you will pay back. The moment you brought this to the public, it was ‘ah! you aree giving China immunity clause, so you must give us.
“The selfishness of those members who I don’t know what they are pursuing has put the country into jeopardy. Now, other countries are asking for immunity clause in their own agreements.
“The other aspect I said was that the Chinese may likely withdraw. That’s where we are. We are talking to them. They have promised to give us the loan but at least it has held us back since June till now. We have done seven months. If they had given us money since June, we would have gone far. We would have started clearing by now. But imagine seven months wasted because one or some few members of the house of representatives went to the public”, Amaechi laments.
The honourable minister also gave a brief explanation of what was covered in the immunity clause regarding the Chinese loan agreement.
“I have explained over and over that what the immunity clause simply does is to say ‘look, in case you are not able to pay back, I want to be given the opportunity to take you to court or to arbitration as it is in the clause.
“What the immunity clause does for us as Nigeria is that you can go for everything in case the court awards you anything but you can not go for our diplomatic assets, military assets, oil assets. So, what is remaining? Airport, railways? Those are things you can go for in case the court awards you”, he said.