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ADC Slams Tinubu’s £746m UK Port Deal as ‘Colonial-Era Treaty’ That Mortgages Nigeria’s Future

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"1OzwPkqo" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa<&sol;p><div class&equals;"cJMIcQQ6" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The African Democratic Congress &lpar;ADC&rpar; has sharply criticized the £746 million port rehabilitation agreement signed by President Bola Tinubu during his recent state visit to the United Kingdom&comma; describing it as a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;mugu” deal—a Nigerian slang term for a foolish or exploitative arrangement—that disproportionately benefits the British economy while saddling Nigeria with significant debt&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary&comma; Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi&comma; the ADC argued that the agreement&comma; which aims to rehabilitate the Tin Can and Apapa ports in Lagos&comma; effectively functions as a commercial loan designed to channel Nigerian funds toward the preservation of UK industries&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;While the APC government has tried to pass off the deal as President Tinubu’s major achievement&comma; it is in fact an achievement of the UK Government&comma; which&comma; through this deal&comma; has managed to save its steel industry&comma; protect thousands of UK jobs&comma; and get Nigeria to pay for it&comma;” the statement read&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"ebLzbCca" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>According to details cited by the ADC from the UK Government’s official website&comma; the agreement is structured through UK Export Finance’s &lpar;UKEF&rpar; Buyer Credit Facility&comma; arranged by Citibank&comma; N&period;A&period;&comma; London Branch&period; The party noted that such facilities are typically used to finance the procurement of UK goods and services&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The ADC highlighted specific contractual obligations&comma; noting that at least £236 million of the total will be awarded to British companies&period; Additionally&comma; British Steel is set to supply 120&comma;000 tonnes of steel billets under a £70 million contract&comma; described by UKEF as its largest export order of its kind&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The party expressed alarm that Nigeria appears to be assuming substantial debt to fund foreign industrial interests&period; The ADC called on the Federal Government to provide full transparency regarding the agreement&comma; demanding details on interest rates&comma; repayment terms&comma; local content provisions&comma; job creation for Nigerians&comma; and skills transfer requirements&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If the APC government has answers to these questions&comma; it should make them available to Nigerians&comma;” the statement added&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Otherwise&comma; Nigerians are justified in concluding that&comma; 66 years after independence&comma; President Bola Tinubu has travelled to London to sign an agreement that resembles a colonial-era treaty&comma; one that risks mortgaging the country’s future for limited value and symbolism&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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