The Ministry of Budget and National Planning said the contentious Lagos-Calabar rail project was among those corrected by it and re-submitted to the National Assembly following detected errors.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Akpandem James, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the amended Ministry of Transportation budget and that of other ministries were resubmitted and accepted by the relevant committees.
“With reference to the specific issue of the Calabar – Lagos rail project, we will like to state that the two railway projects, Lagos – Kano and the Calabar – Lagos, are very important projects of the present administration.
“It was always the intention of the executive to have both projects reflected in the budget submitted to the National Assembly.
“However, it will be recalled that the Budget Office made a number of errors in the initial proposals of a number of ministries.
“These errors were all corrected by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the corrected versions were submitted to the relevant committees of the National Assembly.
“This included that of the Ministry of Transportation,” it stated.
It stated also that the two rail projects were critical, thus part of those for which the President was currently negotiating funding with the Chinese government.
“The N60bn provided in the budget for the Lagos – Kano and Calabar – Lagos rail lines is counterpart funding, to support the Chinese financing for the projects.
“These projects are part of the Strategic Implementation Plan of the government which was disclosed by the Minister of Budget and National Planning at the National Economic Council Retreat in March 2016.
“It is hoped that with this clarification, the raging controversy over the Calabar – Lagos rail project will be put to rest,” it stated.
According to the statement, the president is desirous of signing the document into law as soon as possible.
It revealed that the President had already directed that copies should be made available to Heads of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government.
Also, ministers were asked to go through the details and give their reactions as they affected their various ministries, to guide the president and enable him to sign the Appropriation Bill into law. (NAN)
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