Over N300m Generated from Abuja-Kaduna Train Service monthly -Amaechi
By Ime Okon
The Nigerian Government is generating over N300 million from the Abuja-Kaduna train service every month.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, made this known while speaking as a guest on a television programme in Abuja.
The minister also revealed that the operation of the Lagos-Ibadan train service is financed by money generated from the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.
He said, “Currently, we are running Lagos-Ibadan from the money we are making from Abuja-Kaduna rail service, at the end of the day, we pay back over N100million to the Federal Government.”
The minister also stated that the country is capable of meeting its loan requirements comfortably based on this performance which is bound to improve in the coming months.
This is coming after persistent complaints by some public commentators that Nigeria is borrowing excessively from China. The speculation compelled the Debt Management Office to clarify that loans from China to Nigeria, which presently stood at $3.59bn, constitute only 9.4 percent of the country’s total foreign debt stock of $37.9bn.
The Director-General of DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, also noted that the loans were largely concessional, as no national asset was tagged as collateral.
Her words: “Nigeria’s total debt stock as of September 30 was $37.9bn; this figure comprised the external debt stock of the Federal Government, 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory.
“But total loans from China stand at 3.59 billion dollars, which is 9.47 percent of the total external debt. The loans did not require any national asset as collateral; they were largely concessional”.