PDP faults government’s claim on $100m airport terminals counterpart-funding

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted claim that the past administration did not pay the $100 million counterpart-funds for airport terminals.
In a statement issued by the party’s spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye yesterday, the PDP said that the claim was false and misleading.

“Once again, our attention has been drawn to a statement made by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, during the Channels Television Live Programme, ‘Sunrise Daily’ of Tuesday, September 20, 2016 in which she stated that ‘Nigeria has not paid the Airport Terminal Counterpart- Funding of $100 million….’

“This information like many of her previous statements is false, misleading, malicious and was deliberately made with the intention of blackmailing previous PDP-led administration which has been the hallmark of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
“We are pained that the APC under President Muhammadu Buhari is bent on sacrificing our hard earned democracy on the slab of falsehood by consistently disregarding and denying all the obvious achievements of the 16 years of PDP era and collective successes of Nigerians. Why is that?”

According to PDP, the former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in 2014 awarded the contract of remodeling and building of international airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu on a ‘Built, Operate and Transfer’ (BOT) basis, financed by Chinese EXIM Bank with counterpart-funds from Nigeria. The contract total sum was $500 million with counterpart-funding of $100 million from Nigeria.

“The fact of the matter is that Nigeria paid her own $100 million on January 29, 2014 through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the beginning of the projects.

“You will also recall that the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Hajiya Binta Bello corroborated our position during her interview with Thisday Newspaper on September 14, 2015, where she stated that, ‘Finance was not an impediment, and Nigeria government counterpart funding of $100 million has been paid at the commencement of the Projects’. She went further to assert that the projects will be completed and delivered at the first quarter of 2016.”

PDP said in the light of the above, the claim by the Minister of Finance, is not only standing the truth on its head but “depicting the habitual lies and deceit the APC is known for.”