Nigeria’s Transport Minister Questioned About “Tricky” Chinese Loans, Debt Traps and Repayment

Nigerian Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi made the rounds of national TV news channels to promote Tuesday’s official launch of the Chinese-built Lagos to Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway service.

In an interview with Arise TV, Rotimi fielded a series of poorly-informed questions about how Nigeria could avoid the fate of Zambia, which the interviewer incorrectly said had been forced to hand over its national power company and other strategic assets as part of a loan settlement agreement with China (which, of course, is not true and never happened).

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