Former education minister Oby Ezekwesili has called for the termination of Nigeria’s £746 million ports upgrade financing deal with the United Kingdom, warning that the transaction could worsen the country’s already strained fiscal position.
Ezekwesili, in a public statement, criticised the Federal Government’s decision to take on the debt for the rehabilitation of Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, arguing that Nigeria should have explored private capital rather than adding to its sovereign obligations.
Her comments come 152 days after President Bola Tinubu and the UK government signed the financing agreement at Windsor Castle in March.
The £746 million deal is structured as a commercial loan arranged by Citibank and guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF), with the financing supporting the rehabilitation and modernisation of Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
“This is not a grant, nor aid. It is a sovereign debt obligation,” she said, arguing that the country would bear the repayment burden while British companies benefit from contracts under the project.
