Chinese Loan: APC Has Been Mortgaging Nigeria's Sovereignty – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday said the revelation of the ‘obnoxious clauses’ in the agreement entered by the All Progressive Congress (APC) administration with their Chinese lenders in the $500 million loan, has vindicated the party’s stand that ”the APC has been secretly mortgaging the sovereignty of our nation to benefit it’s selfish leaders.”
In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary disclosed that it’s investigation showed that “the mortgaging of our nation’s sovereignty to foreign lenders, including the exposed $500 million loan from China, has been with the active connivance of the APC as a party, even when such is against our national interest.”
The PDP strongly rejects the attempts by the Buhari’s administration to justify this reprehensible pawning of our sovereignty to a foreign interest.
Nigerians can recall that our party had on May 28, 2020 alerted that the Buhari administration and the APC has placed our nation on international auction market with accumulation of foreign loans under nebulous terms.
The PDP declares that the APC agenda offends our corporate existence as a nation and grossly violates the fundamentals of our constitution as a self-governing state, which grant no space for any form of takeover of any of our national interest by foreigners, under any conditions whatsoever.
This gambling with our sovereignty amounts to an unpardonable treachery against our nation and the future of our unborn generation, given the level of incompetence, corruption, treasury looting and betrayal of public trust by officials of the APC administration, which President Buhari had also confirmed.
The PDP is further irked by arrogance being displayed by some officials of the Buhari administration, who rather than being remorseful, are daring Nigerians and the National Assembly over the matter.
The attitude of government officials including the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amechi, who instead of steps to reassure Nigerians, is referring to ceding of control and ownership of assets in the events of default, further raises questions regarding the reliability of the current administration.
As a pan Nigeria party, the PDP declares that our sovereignty as a nation remains non-negotiable.
Nigerians reject such sovereignty pawning clause and not ready to mortgage any parts of our country under any guise whatsoever.
In that regard, the PDP charges the APC administration to retrace it steps and halt every action regarding the administration of the loan until all toxic clauses are removed from the agreement.
Such mortgaging of our sovereignty in a loan agreement is in further violation of the oath of office of the President to protect the interest of the sovereignty of our nation.
The PDP also calls on the National Assembly to review all foreign loan agreements entered by the APC administration and take further urgent steps to retrieve our nation from the international auction.
