BY DAPO FALADE
Minister of Transportation, Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has said over 20,000 workers have been engaged for the ongoing construction of Lagos-Ibadan rail project.
Speaking at a public hearing in Abuja, on Monday, he said the number of Nigerians employed was in compliance with the local content law as contained in the $1.6 billion contract agreement between Nigeria and China.
Responding to concerns by the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, he said it was not true that the numbers of Nigerians employed to work in the rail project was not in tandem with the provisions for local contentm
“There are over 20,000 Nigerian workers employed for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan railway project, only 560 of the workers on that project are Chinese,” Amaechi said, adding that most materials for the project were locally sourced except for those that were manufactured outside the country.
“We have over 150 Nigerians being trained as engineers in China. The Chinese have also built two training institutions for us; one at Idu and the other one is the Transportation University in Daura, Katsina State,” he added.
The minister also revealed that only a contract of $1.6 billion was awarded by the present administration in the Ministry of Transportation as against the allegations by the House Committee chairman, Honourable Nicholas Ossai, that there was a $33b contract awarded by the present administration.
“Mr Chairman, there is no $33bn contract in the Ministry of Transportation. What we have is $1.6b awarded by this government for Lagos-Ibadan, for which the Chinese government is providing $1.2b and we are providing the remaining $400m,” he said.
Amaechi also insisted that the coastal rail project may not sail through if the House of Representatives committee continues its investigations on the project before the loan is granted.
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