The Senate has requested the presence of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, so he could explain why the eastern corridor of the country’s rail lines was excluded from the proposed loan from the China Exim Bank.
In April 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari sent a letter to the National Assembly, asking for approval to borrow $5.851 billion for the upgrade of various sections of the country’s railway.
The resolution of the Senate on Tuesday, was a follow up to a motion raised by the Senator representing Anambra south, Enyinnaya Abaribe.
“The eastern section of the rail segment, which has a link between the south-east to the north-eastern parts of the rail line is completely excluded from the request.
“The loan being a federal government borrowing would be paid for by all sections of the country, therefore every section of the country should be taken into consideration.
“There is a railway master plan developed by the ministry of transport and of which such plans has not been referred to in the current borrowing plan,” Abaribe said.