The Senate yesterday summoned the minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi to appear before it to explain reasons for the exclusion of the south east from the proposed loan of $5,851 billion from China Exim Bank to execute the modernisation of Lagos-Kano, Kano-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, and Lagos-Calabar rail segment.
This follows a motion moved by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP Abia South) during plenary titled, “Outright Omission of Eastern Corridor Rail Line in the request for approval of Federal Government 2016-2015 External Borrowing (Rolling Plan)”.
Abaribe said that the federal government had on April 26, 2017 laid before the National Assembly a request seeking an approval for a loan of $5,851 billion from China Exim Bank to execute the rail project.
He noted that the above sections of the rail line that the loan was being sought for covers only a section of the country, that is, the western corridor or sections.
“The Eastern section of the rail segment, which has a link between the South Eastern to North Eastern parts of the rail line, is completely excluded from the request”, he said.
Abaribe averred further that, “the loan being a federal government borrowing would be paid for by all sections of the country; therefore every section of the country should be taken into consideration.”
According to him, there is a railway master plan developed by the Ministry of Transport and of which such plan has not being referred to in the current borrowing plan.
Source: leadership.ng
