Nigeria dismisses report on failed repayment of Chinese loans

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has dismissed as outright falsehood a report that Nigeria has defaulted on the repayment of the Chinese loans.

In a statement titled “Rebuttal of False Publication by some media houses,” on Wednesday, the DMO assured Nigerians that the Federal Government was committed to its debt obligations and has not defaulted on any of its loan repayments to China.

The statement read: “Nigeria remains unwaveringly committed to fulfilling its debt obligations in a responsible and timely manner.

“The attention of the Debt Management Office (DMO) has been drawn to a publication by some media house claiming that Nigeria has defaulted in debt repayment to China which it claimed penalties stand at N41.21 billion.”

The agency urged Nigerians to disregard the report.

READ ALSO: Lesson for Nigeria, as China fines Kenya N4.7bn for defaulting on loan repayment

“The Public is assured that Nigeria is fully committed to honoring its debt obligations and has not defaulted on any of its debt service obligations, the media report should therefore be disregarded,” it added.

In December 2021, the DMO said Nigeria’s debt to China stood at $4.1 billion as of September in the same year.

The balance is out of a total debt of $6.5 billion available for Nigeria to draw down.

According to the government, Chinese loans are project-tied loans.

The 11 projects undertaken with the loans as of March 31, 2020 are the Nigerian Railway Modernization Project (Idu-Kaduna section), Abuja Light Rail Project, Nigerian Four Airport Terminals Expansion Project (Abuja, Kano, Lagos, and Port Harcourt), Nigerian Railway Modernization Project (Lagos-Ibadan section), and Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Abuja-Keffi- Makurdi Road Project.

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