UK debt offer to Nigeria conditioned on adherence to IMF

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

P.M. News (Lagos)
UK To Cancel Nigeria's Debt
May 4, 1999

Lagos - Britain has held out the prospect of partial cancellation of
Nigeria's $29 billion external debt if it continues with reforms endorsed
by the International Monetary Fund, Reuters quoting a report in Tuesday's
Financial Times said.

The paper said the offer was made in a letter from British finance minister
Gordon Brown to his Nigerian counterpart Ismaila Usman. It said the letter
would be quoted later today by Treasury Secretary Patricia Hewitt to an FT
seminar on Nigeria.

The letter told Nigeria's incoming civilian government it must accept
permanent IMF monitors in its finance ministry and central bank and allow
independent audits of the bank and the state-owned oil company if it is to
win UK backing for debt relief and new loans, the FT said.