By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Federal Government has said that the China-Nigeria economic relations are very cordial and beneficial to the country.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, said, this during his maiden interactions with the Diplomatic Correspondent Association of Nigeria (DICAN), at Tafawa Balewa House, Abuja.
Tuggar noted that there were a lot of ongoing projects that were being funded by China.
“For instance, we have the Ajaokuta-Abuja, Kaduna-Kano, Gas Pipeline ongoing. We have the Lagos- Port Harcourt rail project that is also ongoing. We equally have the coastal railway. That is also another ongoing project, and so on.
“So, a lot of infrastructure projects are ongoing and the funding continues, and of course, we are looking at even newer projects. I am supposed to be going to China shortly and the idea is for Mr. President to also embark on a state visit thereafter.
“So, our relations with China remain, and we will continue to improve. We appreciate what China is doing. It is a holistic approach to infrastructural development in Nigeria,” he said.
On the China Belt and Road Initiatives, the minister said that Nigeria was not only partaking in the initiative but also other projects with a two billion dollar infrastructure funding agreement.
Asked if the former President of Sierra Leone, Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, is currently resident in Nigeria after being accused of an attempted coup in his home country, Tuggar, answered in the affirmative.
“President Koroma resides in Nigeria, but he is currently away for some medical treatment. He will return in three months. But this is where he is residing. He is safe and sound here and we have not been speaking about his presence here because the whole idea of him coming here, as you remember, was to diffuse some of the tension that was building up in Sierra Leone,” he added.
“So, we don’t want a situation where he is residing here and we continue to speak about him and he is attracting a lot of attention. And maybe he is even being put in an awkward position where he has to start speaking and then that defeats the purpose of us diffusing the tension in Sierra Leone we hope you will understand this and you will cooperate with us in trying to maintain that objective,” Tuggar said.
