According to statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama says that China has granted Nigeria $6 billion loan to fund infrastructure project in Nigeria.
“It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we access it,” he said.
Over the past few months, the administration of President Buhari has been looking for sources to fund a projected N2.2 trillion ($11.1 billion) deficit in the 2016 Budget, as the president plans to triple capital spending in the 2016 fiscal year.
According to report by Reuters, Nigeria also entered a currency swap deal with China as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, and Nigeria’s central bank signed a deal on yuan transactions. According to Lin Songtian, Director General of the African Affairs Department of China’s foreign ministry,
“It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria”
Here are official photos of President Buhari today in China.
Photo Credit: twitter.com/NGRPresident | twitter.com/geoffreyonyeama