By Musa Simon Reef, Kayode Kolade & Abdulwahab Isa
The Goodluck Jonathan administration is diverting the sum of $500 million (about N74 billion) meant for a very critical development project in the country to a bogus one, a Government document scooped by Peoples Daily has revealed.
A letter personally signed by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, and addressed to the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Nigeria, reveals the Federal Government's subtle moves to renegotiate the terms of a $500 million facility to finance the National Public Security Community System Project. The loan facility from the Chinese government was originally planned to finance the modernisation of the nation’s Railway system.
Already, according to the letter dated 30th of August, 2010, President Jonathan has given approval for the diversion of the fund, from the railway project, considered very critical to the development of the nation's transportation sector and stabilising Nigeria's chaotic transportation system.
Curiously, according to our investigation, the Federal Ministry of Transport, which currently supervises the Nigeria Railway Modernisation Project, has been kept in the dark about the Sino-Nigeria deal, which was sealed under the presidency of late President Umaru Yar’adua.
Aganga, in the letter entitled 'Request for the Negotiation of the Agreement on the $500 million Loan Extended to Nigeria by the Peoples Republic of China and Utilisation of the Loan for the National Public Security Community System Project,' said the need to divert the money was aimed at addressing security challenges in the country.
The letter further reads: “I write sequel to the meeting held today with Mr Wang Lei Charge D' Affairs of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China and wish to confirm that the President has approved that the $500 million loan granted to Nigeria by China which was earlier proposed for the implementation of Kano-Abuja Railway would now be utilised for the National Public Security Community System Project."
Rationalising the diversion of the fund to the security project, which the government describes as "designed to address security challenges, which are sine qua non for the socio-economic development of the country," Aganga said, "it would be recalled that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the $470 million Security Project, out of which $70.5 million would be count part funding by Nigeria, was initiated with the Chinese Eximbank in March 2008 during the visit of our late President Umaru Yar'adua to China."
The finance minister said further that, "Considering the importance which the government attaches to an early conclusion on this matter, including the signing of the Agreement of the $500 million loan to Nigeria by China, I do look forward, as indicated during the meeting, to visiting China at the earliest opportunity between the week of September 14 and September 21, 2010, to conclude the negotiations and signing of the Loan Agreement".
Last night, a government official alleged that the planned diversion of the N74 billion may not be unconnected with the desire to raise huge funds to fund 2011 presidential campaigns.
The official, who said the nebulous National Public Security Community System Project could turn out to be a hoax, recalled that similar strategies have been used in the past to divert funds meant for public projects to bogus schemes.
Attempts to get reaction from the office of the finance minister on the matter proved abortive, as the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Okwudili Ojukwu, refused to respond to inquiries on the issue, even after he requested one of our reporters to send an email to him on the matter.
Thereafter, he refused to respond to the email and many calls made to his cell phone, including a text message, up to press time last night.
A spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in Abuja; simply identified as Mr. Teng, said in a telephone interview yesterday, that he was not aware of the letter, saying, "I am not sure I have seen such a letter. It has not come to my notice."
It would be recalled that late President Yar'adua, had in July 2007, suspended the $8 billion railway contract awarded by President Obasanjo in 2006 to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the Chinese firm that handled the rehabilitation of the railways during the late General Sani Abacha adminstration.
The reason for the suspension of the project, according to the then Minister of Finance, Dr Mansur Muhtar, was non-approval of the contract by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The Obasanjo government had made an advance payment of $250 million to CCECC in 2006, as mobilisation to enable it commence work on the railways.
The immediate past Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi, had early in 2008 also described the contract as “an illegality,” stressing that the Yar'adua government, which had prided itself on its rule of law mantra, could not justify a contract that was not duly ratified by the appropriate body.
The suspended railways contract was the first phase of the nation's 25-year modernisation project initiated by Obasanjo. It was meant to raise the travelling speed of passenger trains from 120km to 150km per hour.
Nigeria, under Yar'adua, was then made to pay certain fine to the Chinese Government over the termination of the deal, given that the two countries had earlier on signed an MoU on it during Obasanjo's time.
However, the same Yar'adua administration later re-opened discussions on the project, and subsequently obtained the loan extended by the Chinese Government, which is now being diverted to the nebulous project.
Comments (17)
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The Press is important
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Stop being ethnocentric
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DIVERSION OF MONEY MEANT TO IMPROVE OUR DELAPIDATED RAILWAY SYSTEM
THE NORTH CAN PRODUCE SOME OF THEIR BEST AND YOUNG POLITICIANS TO CONTEST WITH JONATHAN WHO SEEMS TO NOT KNOW HIS PRIORITIES. THE NORTH HAS YOUNG AND ENERGETIC YOUNG MEN LIKE RIBADU, RUFIA ETC. WE NEED A COMPLETE CHANGE FROM THE PAST
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NIGERIAN PRESS AT IT AGAIN
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Watch Your Steps!!
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Jonathan is not the Massiah
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Reserve comment
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peoples daily
you are an idiotic asshole,jonathan can never win a free and fair election. period!!!!!!!!!!!!
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COULD SOMEBODY TELL ME WHERE IS ABUBAKAR DANGIWA UMAR? This is the time he can serve is country.
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IS IBB the only northern that can be president
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MR FEAR GOD
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Too slow for a fast developing Nigeria.
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Dour-faced, slow-witted, colourless, nepotic monster dredged up from the swamps of the Niger Delta and foisted on the rest of Nigeria! All the south-south big wigs in his administration are Ijaw! Foreign Affairs Minister, Ijaw; Petroleum Minister, Ijaw; Niger Delta Minister, Ijaw; Chairman (not that clueless MD o!), NDDC, Ijaw; the only south-south GED in NNPC is also Ijaw! Haba Jonathan!
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Please keep us abreast
Recently the Foreign affairs minister said the federal government has signed a deal with a chinese firm ZTE for a security contract. Could this be the source of the funds?
We need to weigh which project is more viable and would impact on the lives of the average NIgerian.
How much more do the police need to perform better. They seem to become worse than ever.
If it is the ZTE contract,then is the police force professional enough to handle a sophisticated telecommunication platform that ZTE provides?
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YOU ARE A FOOL.
IF you are called to defend this write up and allegation ,don't run.
I don't know why many of you are with dead conscience.why?
You like it or not,God have choosen Jonathan. He is our PResident till 2015.
Nothing you can do to him.
You can't withstand him or stop him.
Who can stop a "MOVING TRAIN" who?
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