$600m Chinese rail money not diverted – Okonjo-Iweala

Firstclass newsline gathered that the immediate past Minister of
Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Sunday described as untrue
allegation that a substantial part($600m) of the $1bn Chinese loan
obtained for railway projects, was diverted.
Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement by her Media Adviser, Mr Paul Nwabuikwu,
also explained that contrary to the allegation, the Kano-Lagos rail
project was not part of the project listed for funding from the
Chinese loan.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last Monday queried the Ministry of
Finance for alleged diversion of foreign loans obtained for rail
projects by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Specifically, the President was seeking clarification on alleged
diversion of a substantial part of a $1.005bn loan obtained from the
Chinese Exim Bank for the construction of a standard gauge rail line,
linking Lagos to Kano.
The funds were said to have been moved elsewhere.
Okonjo-Iweala, who spearheaded the negotiation for the loan during her
time as finance minister, said the China-Exim Bank kept and disbursed
funds for approved projects to contractors based on milestones.
The funds, she added, were not domiciled in the Finance Ministry.
Giving a breakdown of the loan and how it was utilised, the minister
said $500m was used for the expansion of four International Airport
Terminals in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt; $500m for the Abuja
Light Rail project; $984m for the Zungeru Hydro-electric power project
and $100m for the Galaxy Backbone project
The minister, in the statement, noted that even if the alleged
project was on the list of China-EximBank funded projects, diversion
of any Chinese funds would have been extremely difficult because the
terms of the contract and the processes would simply not have
permitted such action.
The statement reads in part, "We have continued to receive media
inquiries regarding an allegation reportedly made by the Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Mohammed Bashar, that a
substantial part of a $1bn loan obtained from the China-EximBank by
the Jonathan administration for a Kano-Lagos rail project was diverted
to other projects.
"I want to state categorically that there is no truth in the reported
allegation. Anyone who is interested can cross-check with the
China-EximBank or the Chinese Embassy.
"It is noteworthy that even though President Buhari, in his reported
comments on the allegation, made no reference to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala but
rightly stressed the need for due process and transparency in the
execution of public projects, a sponsored media campaign has once
again been launched by political elements to make the former Minister
the culprit in a non-existent scandal.
"The alleged diversion has no substance for the simple reason that the
Kano-Lagos project was not even among the projects presented for
funding by the China EximBank for several strategic infrastructural
projects across the country.
"In fact, it was the Lagos–Ibadan rail project, not Lagos-Kano rail
project that was proposed in the original application to the
China-EximBank. But in the end, no funds were assigned for the
Lagos-Ibadan rail project by the China-EximBank."
Firstclassnewsline.net