Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is to helo Nigeria repay $76 million polio eradication facility to Japan, finance minister Kemi Adeosun said on Tuesday in Abuja.
Adeosun said Nigreria authorised the foundation on the repayment following the eradication of polio in the country as a result of the ODA facility provided by the Japanese government valued at $76 million in 2014.
Adeosun announced this when she received a delegation of Japanese House of Councillors Parliamentarians in Abuja to “research” the level of the usage of the Overseas Development Assistance (ODAs) extended to Nigeria since 2014.
The ODA facility was structured for repayment after four years. By this development, Bill and Melli da Gates Foundation will start repaying the facility to Japan this year.
Adeosun saod that the structure of the transaction was favourable to Nigeria because after four years Nigeria can ask Bill and Mellinda Gates foundation to trigger payment of the polio eradication facility.
The finance minister told the Japanese delegation noted that Nigeria “is fast growing and evolving from negative areas to positive through its determined fight against corruption and the desire of the current administration to lift Nigerians out of poverty.”
She assured the Japanese that the Nigerian economy will transform in coming years and will like to deepen relations with Japanese companies some of which were in the country last year.
According to Adeosun, “because Nigeria is a middle income country we will require the expertise of Japanese companies for infrastructure development.”
She assured the delegation that Nigeria is a good place to invest because Nigeria is a rising investment destination and promised that the government will make life easy for Japanese investors wishing to do business in Nigeria.
In his address, the leader of the Japanese delegation, Kiyoshi Ejima described Nigeria as rich in natural resources and that Japan has tried to strengthen relationship with.
He emphasised that Nigeria has set the target of becoming one of the top 20 economies by the year 2020, sssuring that “Japan will support Nigeria towards realizing its 2020 target.”
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuka
