The immediate past Minister of Finance,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Sunday described as untrue the allegation that a
substantial part of the $1bn Chinese loan obtained for a railway project was
diverted.
Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement issued by her media
adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, also said that contrary to the allegation, the
Kano-Lagos rail project was not part of the projects listed for funding for the
Chinese loan.
President Muhammadu Buhari, had last Monday queried
the Ministry of Finance over alleged diversion of the foreign loan obtained for
the rail project, by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Specifically, the President was seeking clarification
on the alleged diversion of $600m, which was part of a $1.005bn loan obtained
from the China-Exim Bank for the construction of a standard weigh rail line
linking Lagos to Kano.
The funds were said to have been moved elsewhere.
But while reacting to the allegation, Okonjo-Iweala,
who spearheaded the negotiation of the loan during her time as finance
minister, said the China-EximBank kept and disbursed funds for approved
projects to contractors based on milestones.
The funds, she added, were not domiciled with the
Finance ministry.
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