Fresh facts have emerged that the President Muhammad Buhari-led Federal Government plans to spend part of the $4.9bn fresh loans it is seeking the approval of the National Assembly on s standard gauge rail being planned from Kano State in Nigeria to Maradi in Niger Republic and Lagos-Ibadan railway.

Inspiration FM recalls that President' Buhari had asked the National Assembly to approve fresh external loans of $4.054bn and €710m ($839m) for his regime and craved the approval of the legislature for grant components of $125m in the 2018-2020 external rolling borrowing plan.

According to the breakdown of some of the key projects, the $190,255,276 to be provided by European ECA/KfW/IPEX/APC will be spent on the Nigeria to Niger Republic rail line.

The document gave the project title as “Kano-Maradi SGR with branch to Dutse” and identified the implementing MDA as the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

And the $225,120,000 to be provided by China Exim Bank is expected to be expended on the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernization Project.

The $50,000,000 to be provided by IFAD will be spent on what the government tagged Value Chain Development Programme -Additional Financing I1 and It identified the implementing states as Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun, Taraba, Nasarawa, Enugu and Kogi while the geo-political zones were listed as North Central, North East, South West and South East.

The targeted impact, according to the government, is and I quote, “to support a measurable increase in the programme’s outreach to 100,000 farmers, including over 6,000 and 3,000 processors and traders respectively.