Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to help Nigeria repay $76m polio facility

Nigeria has authorised Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation to start the repayment of 76 million
dollars polio eradication facility to Japan.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, made
this known in Abuja on Tuesday when she
received a delegation of Japanese House of
Councillors Parliamentarians.
She said that the delegates were in Nigeria to
assess the level of usage of Overseas
Development Assistance (ODAs) extended to
Nigeria since 2014.
She added that the authority to trigger repayment
was given to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
following the eradication of polio in the country.
She noted that the eradication of polio was made
possible as a result of the ODA facility provided
by the Japanese Government valued at 76 million
dollars in 2014.
She recalled that the ODA was structured for
repayment after four years and that by this
development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
would start repaying the facility to Japan this
year.
Adeosun while marketing Nigeria to the Japanese
delegation noted that Nigeria was fast growing
and evolving from negative areas to positive
areas through its determined fight against
corruption.
She added that “because Nigeria is a middle-
income country, we will require the expertise of
Japanese companies for infrastructure
development.
“Nigeria is a good place to invest because it is a
rising investment destination.
“I promise that the government will make life easy
for Japanese investors wishing to do business in
Nigeria.”
In his address, the leader of the delegation, Mr
Kiyoshi Ejima, described Nigeria as a powerhouse
with rich natural resources with which Japan tried
to strengthen the relationship with.
Nigeria, he said, had set the target of becoming
one of the top 20 economies by the year 2020
and he assured that “Japan will support Nigeria
toward realising its 2020 target.”