President Muhammed Buhari has order the Ministry of Finance to explain why foreign loans obtained for various key rail projects by the federal government were diverted for other purposes.
While speaking at the end of a presentation on the Ministry of Transport by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Bashar at the Presidential Villa, President Buhari, according to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that it was disappointing to find that foreign loans obtained in line with signed agreements were moved from one project to another.
“I hope that due process was followed before such diversions were carried out. Taking money from one project to another has to be done properly,” the President warned.
The statement further said President Buhari was reacting to the specific instance of the diversion of a substantial part of the loan of USD1.005 billion from the Chinese Exim Bank, obtained for the construction of a standard gauge rail line linking Lagos to Kano but which was moved elsewhere.
The loans were obtained from China in 2012 under the President Goodluck Jonathan whilst Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala served as Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy.
The Permanent Secretary had informed the President that only USD 400 million of that loan remained with the Ministry of Finance.
The President regretted that government had, over the years, failed to meet its counter-part funding obligation on some projects, leading to such projects being left uncompleted or abandoned.
Buhari has also assured that all funds stolen from the state treasury would be recovered by his administration.
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