/ 12 October 1999

JAPAN SAYS NO TO NIGERIA

A VISITING Japanese trade delegation on Monday told Nigerian authorities that it is “immoral” for the west African nation to request debt cancellation. “As you called for a new era of morality in the administration of your economy, the same moral consideration should be applied to your debt issue,” the leader of the 30-man delegation, Noboru Hatakeyama, told Nigerian Finance Minister Adamu Ciroma during a meeting. Hatakeyama said that by all accounts, Nigeria, the seventh largest oil producer, is not a poor country, and consequently, should not ask for debt cancellation. Nigeria’s external debt is about $30-billion.