From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has disclosed that delivering the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern Rail Line during the life time of the current administration is no longer feasible due to its inability to secure foreign loans that will make 85 percent of the funds needed to execute the project.
Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, made the disclosure while responding to a question on what is hindering the administration from delivering the project before May 29, 2023 as earlier promised.
Sambo had in September while inspecting the work done so far, disclosed that the contractor in charge of the project, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCEC) had often complained of incessant attacks on its workers around the Abia State axis of the rail corridor.
He had said government was left with no choice but to halt the ongoing construction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern Rail Line due to insecurity and incessant vandalism.
Recall, President Buhari had two years ago performed the groundbreaking of the $1.96 billion railine project saying that it would stimulate economic activities in 14 states it covers.
The benefiting states included the five South-east states of Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu as well as nine others – Rivers, Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi and Gombe.
Then Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, had said that the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line would be delivered before the end of the tenure of the present administration.
According to Sambo: “The question relating to the promise to deliver the eastern line narrow gauge before the end of this administration. Now, the eastern line is the line from Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, it has been segmented in such a way that the first part of the works covers from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
“Now, the truth of the matter is that if there was a promise to deliver this line before the end of this administration, this promise is no longer feasible because, when the contract was approved, it was approved on the premise that 85 percent will be funded through foreign loan, while 15 percent will be the counterpart funding for the national budget.
“Since that approval, we have not been able to obtain that 85 percent foreign loan for this project. We have been funding it through the national budget on the bases of the 15 percent counterpart funding of the federal government. And therefore, funding has been a major challenge for this project.”
On the status of the dredging of the Calabar channel, Sambo blamed litigation for stalling the project but announced that President Buhari has directed his ministry and that of the Justice to see to it that the issues are resolved amicably.
He said: “By way of background, I would like to state that the Calabar Channel Management is part and parcel of the other channel managements that had existed between the Nigerian Ports Authority and its joint venture partners. Namely the Lagos Channel Management. The Port Harcourt Bonny Channel Management, otherwise called BCCI, Bonny Channel Company Limited and the JV with the Niger Global in respect to Calabar Channel.
Now, you are aware that about the three, NPA had encountered difficulties with the JV partnership, with respect to the Calabar channel dredging.
“This has been as a result of several litigations from both sides, about the Nigerian ports authority but mainly the joint venture partners Niger Global. However, following presidential intervention, the Ministry of Transportation and the federal ministry of justice have been directed to put in everything they can to resolve all outstanding court cases with a view to having a full resumption of this very very laudable projects. This we are in the process of doing and should be concluding very, very soon.”
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi on his part blamed some Civil Society Organisations as well as some individuals in Rivers State of stalling Ogoni clean up through litigations.
He said this while reacting to allegations by the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) against the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) charged with implementing problematic Ogoni Cleanup in Rivers state of slow pace of work as well as embezzlement.
He said: “On the agitation by MOSOP that accuses HYPREP of slow implementation projects. The federal government is as concerned as MOSOP in terms of the seeming slow pace of the project execution. But however, these are sometimes in most cases, the federal government is not the direct cause. Sometimes you find that individuals and CSOs within Ogoni Land, go to court to obtain one sort of order or another against HYPREP from proceeding with some processes.
“So it has hampered the process as captured in PPP. As we speak now, there’s a group called the Good Conscience that has gone to court to restrain the federal government from continuing with that water projects. Now we’re installed, we can’t move in, we can’t proceed, we can’t make any headway.
“So sometimes most of these slow processes are caused by individuals who have interests in specific areas or projects within the Ogoni land. But we’re as concerned as them and with the funding guarantees that we have now, we have in place very strong supervisory and monitoring evaluation team that ensures that it must achieve, and of course, eventually for payments.
“So we assure that going forward with the funding that we have in place, with the strong supervisory that we have now in place. And then, of course the assurances we’re having from the stakeholders, there should be a reinvigorated peace in terms of project execution in Ogoni land.”
On the allegation of embezzlement against HYPREP, the minister said, “To the best of my knowledge, some of these accusations, sometimes are not very objective. In most cases, they are propelled by very ulterior motives to distract HYPREP. However, we’re open to look into any allegation that has been made against any of our partners in the ministry. So if there are concrete evidence that shows that indeed there are embezzlement, of course, you and I know that this President will never take lightly to that kind of allegations and we will be able to handle it decisively.”
On the funding arrangement to finance the remediation projects and whether or not the IOCs are involved in the contributions, Abdullahi said: “Yes, they are. There is dedicated fund being superintended by the Ogoni Trust Fund, which essentially has been pooled together by the IOCs to actually finance the remediation projects under this principle of the polluter pays.
“So yes, there is a dedicated fund, is available. Recently the President approved what we call the Crash Calls to finance this projects in line with the budget as approved by the Governing Council of HYPREP.”