The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says he personally travelled to Niger Republic to beg the country to allow the Nigerian government to construct the $1.95bn railway from Kano State into Maradi in Niger Republic.
Amaechi said this on Channels Television’s ‘News Night’ programme on Monday which was monitored by our correspondent.
The railway is expected to run from Kano to Dutse- Katsina through Jibia and will end at Maradi Niger Republic.
The minister said some had even accused him of serving northern interests even though his wife is Igbo.
Amaechi stated, “It is just like the shout approximately Kano-Maradi rail. I said my spouse is Igbo. She isn't always from Maradi. The worst is that they will say I am serving the interest of the North. Let’s anticipate this is the argument you may make. The worst I can do is forestall at Jibia that is the border. To even get to Maradi, I needed to travel to Niger Republic to even beg them. They are not bringing their money o. It is our cash. But I’m begging them to permit me get admission to into Maradi.”
When asked why it was so vital to increase the rail to Maradi, Amaechi defined that Niger Republic turned into a landlocked country and had to rely on entrepot change which means that it has to export and import via intermediary countries.
The minister stated because of insecurity and bad street infrastructure in addition to extortion with the aid of safety sellers, Niger Republic and Chad desired exporting and uploading their goods via Benin Republic, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo.
He argued that the new rail might assist Nigeria to compete and this will amplify the financial system.
Amaechi added, “Why are they now not exporting via Nigeria? They say o, your roads are terrible. So, the railway looks after that. They say Customs is hard; Customs will impose fees that are not charged in Benin Republic.
“They say immigration does not allow them. Even once they pass these kind of, there are police checkpoints on the road, Customs checkpoints on the road, immigration checkpoints on the road. Then communities have their own checkpoints on the road, armed robbers attack them on the road. So, they opt to go wherein it's miles safe and cheaper to do commercial enterprise.
“So, all we're saying is we come to Maradi, we construct workplaces, we build a warehouse, you positioned your matters in the warehouse, you deal with Customs at Maradi, cope with immigration at Maradi, cope with police, anything you need to test.
“Once you placed the goods on top of the wagon; it goes immediately to Lagos. When it gets to Lagos, immediately to the ship due to the fact the things you would do in Lagos, you would have carried out in Maradi.”
The minister additionally berated the National Assembly for obstructing the facilitation of Chinese loans due to the debatable sovereignty clause.
In July 2020, a House of Representatives panel had raised the alarm over clauses conceding Nigeria’s sovereignty to China in a loan agreement.
Amaechi claimed that the pointless probe had stalled funding for the Ibadan to Kano rail.
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