of Nigeria’s sovereignty to the China Export-Import Bank should the country default, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has repeatedly opened his mouth and put his foot in it.
On July 29, the minister reportedly urged the House to pause its investigations until his ministry had secured its own loan.He said, “My fear is that if this probe continues, at the end of the day, some sections of the country may suffer. In oversighting, there is what is called national interest.But in asking questions on these loans now, it may jeopardise these loans.
The controversial clause in the 2018 deal, Article 8 reads, “The borrower hereby irrevocably waives any immunity on the grounds of sovereign or otherwise for itself or its property in connection with any arbitration proceeding pursuant to Article 8, thereof with the enforcement of any arbitral award pursuant thereto, except for the military assets and diplomatic assets.”
He went on to refer to the legislature as wise men, and ominously pointed out that they would jeopardise the ability of the executive arm of government to raise money if they continued with this curiosity, for it would make the Chinese and the Russians, from whom they hoped to secure more loans for more projects, apprehensive.
The minister has at least seen the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, Section 2 of which enshrines the indissoluble sovereignty of the country. No loan therefore should purport to even lease the sovereignty of Nigeria to another country, or a bank in that other country.