Chinese loan: Terms dangerous, say Reps as Nigerian government confirms sovereignty clause

The House of Representatives on Monday faulted the sovereignty clause in Nigeria’s loan agreement with China, saying it was dangerous.

The Chairman of the  House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, Nicholas Ossai, who stated this in Abuja at the investigative hearing  on  external loans and commercial agreements, said Nigeria’s loan agreement with the Asian country was being governed by Chinese laws.

He said despite the fact that the Federal Government in  2014 signed  an Executive Order providing guidelines on  waiver of sovereign immunity during loan and commercial agreement negotiations, Nigerian officials had been violating the order.

Members of the executive,  who appeared before the committee were the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami; Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari; and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello.

Others included the Director-General, Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha;  Permanent Secretary (Special Duties in the Ministry of Finance), Aliyu Ahmed and Director, Legal Services, Gabriel Christopher, both representing the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

Ossai, in his opening address, stated that the controversial clauses and agreements had been existing before the Muhammadu Buhari-led regime. He also stated that the probe was not about the ruling All Progressives Congress or the  Peoples Democratic Party.

He also said the lawmakers’ probe was not limited to Chinese  loans and commercial contracts. Ossai stated, “We will like Nigerians to know that we are not focusing on only Chinese loans. From what we know, Nigeria has over 500 bilateral loan/commercial contract agreements and investment treaties with different countries and institutions. There is no way the committee will do a thorough job without segmenting the issues based on countries, institutions or MDAs.

– Punch