The Federal Government said on Saturday assured Nigerians that the loans it borrowed from China and other sources were being effectively utilised for infrastructure development that will create jobs. It said it will also provide the basis for economic development.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this at the construction site of the Ibadan train station after a joint inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail Project with his Transportation counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
He said::“There is no better way to answer Nigerians as to what we have done with the money we have borrowed than this trip,” he told the over 40 journalists who accompanied them on the inspection.
”On this trip, you have seen first hand the stations being constructed, the rail lines and the people who are working on the projects.
“Rather than arguing with critics, we opted to allow you (journalists) – the ears and eyes of Nigerians – to come and see for yourselves what we are doing with the money we are borrowing.”
Justifying the loans, he said there was nothing wrong in borrowing provided the funds are invested in infrastructure rather than services or consumption.
“We didn’t borrow money for services or overhead expenditure. We borrowed money for capital projects: rail; roads; bridges; power – infrastructure generally,” he said in a statement by Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Special Assistant to the President on Media, Office of the Minister of Information and Culture and emailed to Persecondnews.
The minister said the tour of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail Project is the first in a series of inspection the administration is embarking upon to showcase to Nigerians the status of work on the projects the government is executing with the money it has borrowed.
Muhammed expressed satisfaction with the level of work done at the train stations and the modern coaches procured to convey passengers and goods on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail line.
On his part, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said $1.6 billion is being expended on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail line and the stations, with $200-$300 million counterpart funds from the Federal Government.
He appealed to the National Assembly to approve the $5.3 billion loan request from China to enable the government to execute the Ibadan-Kano Standard Gauge rail line.
The ministers and their teams inspected the gigantic Ebute Meta Railway Station Building and yard construction work; Apapa Railway Station; Dockyard Station as well as Agege; Kajola; Papalanto; Abeokuta and Ibadan Train Stations, which are at various stages of completion.
Ibadan
15 Aug. 2020
PICTURES
PIC 1: The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Chairman of the Nigerian Railways Corporation, Mr. Ibrahim Musa, during the inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Line on Saturday.
PIC 2 (From left): The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mrs. Hadiza Bala; Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, during the inspection of construction work on the Apapa Rail Project and Dockyard Station in Lagos
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