Benue State political chieftain, Moses Ayom has urged President Bola Tinubu, to immediately activate the $1.2 billion mining equipment investment deal signed between Nigeria and China in 2016.
Ayom stated this yesterday, adding that he played strategic roles in Nigeria’s partnership with China including being part of the 2016 Presidential delegation to China.
The 2016 Mining Pact, he added, would further boost the advantages of the current partnership between Nigeria and China, once activated.
He observed that the delay in activating that deal portends a serious economic danger capable of attracting N500 billion loss to the economy, according to the audit conducted by Certified Accountants.
Ayom, a former All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, praised Tinubu’s efforts to revitalise Nigeria’s economy but stressed that activating the deal would strengthen Nigeria’s commitment to its international agreements, particularly with China.
He argued that the mining equipment deal, initially signed between Granite and Marble and the Chinese government in 2016, could significantly boost employment and reinvigorate the economy.
The agreement was part of a broader set of deals between Nigeria and China, including a $6 billion currency swap and a $2.5 billion infrastructure investment.
Ayom also commended Tinubu’s recent initiatives to enhance economic ties with China, such as the MoU signed in Beijing on peaceful nuclear energy, which he described as a positive step toward elevating Nigeria-China relations.
The MoUs provide for cooperation between the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), the China Geological Survey (CGS) and the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of China.
The mining equipment deal, signed in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari during a 2016 business delegation to China, has yet to be activated, but Ayom urged Tinubu to prioritise it for the benefit of Nigeria’s economy.
