Campaigners call for complete transparency over massive £746m British harbour contract

The African Democratic Congress has come out strongly against the £746m agreement sealed by President Bola Tinubu during his recent state visit to the United Kingdom, arguing that it unfairly favours the UK while burdening Nigeria with significant debt.

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In a statement issued on Sunday, the party's National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, called on the Federal Government to provide full transparency regarding the terms of the deal and its implications for the local economy.

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A major £746m (approximately $997m) agreement was inked between Nigeria and the UK to upgrade port infrastructure at two of Nigeria's busiest maritime centres in Lagos State, with the goal of boosting trade, creating jobs, and strengthening economic ties between the two nations.

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The ADC is pushing for the government to disclose comprehensive details of the agreement, including interest rates, repayment schedules, and any local content requirements or obligations tied to the project.

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The party views the £746m agreement as being disproportionately skewed in favour of the UK, which already enjoys a considerable trade advantage over Nigeria, and believes that the government should have been more transparent about the terms of the deal.

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According to the ADC, the agreement is essentially a commercial loan arrangement with conditionalities that ensure a substantial portion of the funds either remains in the UK or is repatriated back to it, despite the government's attempts to portray it as a diplomatic success.

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The £746m agreement will be delivered through UK Export Finance's (UKEF) Buyer Credit Facility and arranged by Citibank, N.A., London Branch, with UKEF acting as the UK Government's export credit agency.

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UKEF's Buyer Credit Facility enables foreign buyers to access financing from commercial banks to procure UK goods and services, typically for projects that require significant UK content participation, with the bank paying the UK exporter directly on behalf of the buyer.

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The ADC has expressed concern that at least £236m of the £746m in supplier contracts will be awarded to British companies, while British Steel will supply 120,000 tonnes of steel billets under a £70m contract for port rehabilitation projects.

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The party is particularly concerned that the Nigerian government has entered into an agreement that puts the country at a clear disadvantage, seemingly in exchange for a brief display of ceremony and fanfare, and as part of a broader attempt to secure foreign validation.

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Several unanswered questions remain regarding the agreement, including the repayment terms of the commercial loan, the percentage of local goods and services involved, and the number of direct and indirect jobs that will be created for Nigerians.

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Other unanswered questions include the project timeline, provisions for training and skills transfer, and limits on expatriate staff, as well as defined quotas for SMEs and community benefit obligations.

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The ADC is calling on the government to provide answers to these questions, warning that if it fails to do so, Nigerians will be justified in concluding that President Bola Tinubu has signed an agreement that resembles a colonial-era treaty, one that risks mortgaging the country's future for limited value and symbolism, 66 years after independence.