ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – President Muhammadu Buhari has given approval to the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sort out the technical details of $4.5 billion Chinese loan to Nigeria for the procurement of strategic machinery needed to boost agricultural
development in the country.
The loan has a repayment period of 20 years with five years moratorium and an interest rate of one percent per annum.
Nigeria’s foreign debt increased to $11406.28 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 from $11261.89 million in the third quarter of 2016.
Zamfara State governor, Abdulazeez Yari, and the Minister of Agricultural Resources, Audu Ogbeh, disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Yari said the loan was part of negotiations held to deal with the procurement of needed machinery for agricultural development in all states of the federation when the president visited China last year.
“Understanding the economy of Nigeria, we negotiated to give a counterpart funding of 10 percent which we believe Nigeria can do and we are targeting the natural resources fund from the counterpart funding,” the governor said.
He added that discussions were already being held with the Chinese group, the Nigerian governors and the technical committee that was set up by the minister and the ministry of agriculture and rural development.
Yari explained that they were at the Villa to see the President because it they needed his approval to move to the next level of negotiations.
“So we are making huge progress with this partnership and we realise that China is coming first to support this country. The President has given us his commitment and also asked us to engage the minister of finance, budget and national planning and the CBN to conclude and then the minister of agriculture will make a presentation to council, then to the National Assembly for final approval” he said.
Ogbeh, on his part explained that, an agreement which involved all the states including FCT was signed by the Federal Ministry of Agricultural for the procurement of strategic machinery for rural development and agriculture. Tractors, bulldozers, graders, irrigation pumps, trailers and so on from China.
“The Chinese were willing to supply us these things for a long term basis, 20 years credit at an interest rate of one percent per annum. A committee has been working on the matter and we are close to sorting out all the small details and that is why we came to see the President” he said.
Ogbeh said that the Chinese have shown a willingness to help Nigeria because they were in the same situation 30 years ago, adding that the Chinese government have also indicated a willingness to accept agricultural produce like grains amongst others, as payment.
He added that the President has asked them to get in touch with the ministry of budget and planning, finance and CBN to sort out all the technical details and move on with it.
Meanwhile, Yari has urged Nigerians to look at the benefits the Paris Club refund has brought to states, helping them to clear salary and pensions backlog rather than the controversies surrounding it.
He noted that it was an issue that has to do mainly with the verification of consultants assuring that all will be sorted soon.
“Some people wrote a petition that they have not been paid and mind you we have not even started paying fully because we have to ascertain who worked for who. As I am talking to you we have a lot of litigations, someone says he worked for so and so years for this state and that state” he said.
“”I will not make any comment on it yet. Let me tell you the truth, the London Paris club refund has helped this economy, those in the state knows about it, we were able to pay salaries during the Christmas and new year and we were able to do so many things.”