The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has demanded that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi immediately steps aside while the probe of the alleged lethal clauses in Article 8(1) of the commercial loan agreement signed between Nigeria and Export-Import Bank of China which allegedly “wills the sovereignty of Nigeria” in the $400 million loan for the Nigeria National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Infrastructure Backbone Phase II Project, signed in 2018.
In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the CNPP commended the Chairman of the House Committee on Treaties and Agreements, Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai “for observing the anomaly and not succumbing to the Minister’s antics aimed at truncating the probe.”
The CNPP then frowned “at the attempt by the Minister to stop the investigative hearing into some of the agreements signed between Nigeria and China while responding to various questions on the ongoing modernisation of railway projects being implemented by his ministry.
“We are aware that the Minister is expected to appear again before the House of Representatives on 17th August, 2020, over the ongoing investigation into the commercial loan agreement signed between Nigeria and Export-Import Bank of China to the tune of $5.3 billion.
“For us, for Mr. Rotimi Amaechi to urge the House Committee not to investigate the terms of the loans being received by the federal government because he believed that the probe will jeopardise the chances of the country getting further loans is nothing but a cover up attempt that must be strongly resisted.
“The Minister’s further argument that China was monitoring happenings in Nigeria and the probe will send a negative message to the Asian country about Nigeria is clearly an affront on the intelligence of the Nigerian people.
“We believe that the real fear of the Minister of Transportation is that if the probe continues, at the end of the day, his deeds against the Nigerian people will come to the open.
“The CNPP hereby called on the minister to step aside for proper investigation as he has proven that, by his defence in favour of the defective loan agreement, he has something to hide.
“The CNPP is keeping track of the Minister’s ongoing argument in the media and is currently consulting with relevant civil society organisations on the next line of action on the matter”, the statement read.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
