China Denies Plot to Hijack Nigeria’s Sovereignty over Loans

The Peoples Republic of China on Thursday said the country’s loans to Nigeria are of mutual benefit.

This is coming on the heels of criticisms of Muhammadu Buhari administration’s penchant for foreign loans and fears in some quarters that the federal government may have inadvertently signed away the nation’s sovereignty in loan commitment to China.

But Cui Jianchun, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, explained that Nigeria and China had a history of good friendship and bilateral relations.

Jianchun spoke to reporters at a seminar, “Learning from the Chinese Communist Party’s history and creating a brighter future”, which took place at the University of Abuja.

The envoy regretted that some super powers were painting a bad picture of China’s intentions.

“Some politicians have tried to use the colonial system mindset to say if I lend you money and you cannot pay me back, you will lose your sovereignty”, he said.

The official said China is working with Nigeria on rail because money is now a big constraint, just like in 1978 when his country had no money.

“In China, we did not have money, we did not have technology, and we did not know how to manage the economy.”

Jianchun recalled that when the Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded, it had just a little over 50 members.

The ruling party currently has more than 95 million members in a country of 1.4 billion people, making it the largest governing party in the world.