Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, in hot pepper soup after comment he made in Ilorin on Monday did not augur well with the National Assembly.
Amaechi had claimed that the refusal of the National Assembly to approve the request of the government for foreign loan that will be used for counterpart funding was frustrating the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan and Ibadan-Ilorin-Minna-Kano rail lines, according to the Senate.
The Senate in a statement by its spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi, said Amaechi’s comment was not only false, misrepresenting and contradictory to available facts but that it also portrayed the Minister as not in tune with the position of the government in which he is serving.
“As at today, the only request for approval from the Executive for loan was the one dated January 27, 2017 and signed by Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo seeking a “resolution of the National Assembly for the issuance of USD 1 Billion EuroBond in the international capital market for the funding of the 2016 budget deficit” and we immediately granted the approval.
“Also, in the letter quoted above, the Government mentioned the two rail lines cited by the minister as part of the projects for which the EuroBond will be utilized. So, we cannot understand what the grouse of Mr. Amaechi is.
“We view that statement based on false and misinformed premise strongly as a mere attempt to incite the people against the National Assembly,” Sabi said.
The Senate, however, advised the Minister withdraws the comment, while stressing the National Assembly will take up the matter with Acting President Osinbajo.
