US secretary of state Hillary Clinton encouraged Nigeria yesterday to take a firmer line on corruption and offered US help to implement badly needed electoral reforms in Africa’s biggest energy producer.
Mismanagement and graft over decades have imperilled Nigeria’s development, deterred investment, undermined democracy and deepened conflicts such as the insurgency in the southern Niger Delta and bouts of religious violence in the north.
“We strongly support and encourage the government of Nigeria’s efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption, provide support for democratic processes in preparation for the 2011 elections,” Mrs Clinton said at a news conference with Nigeria’s foreign minister, Ojo Maduekwe.
“We talked specifically about how the United States might be able to encourage the electoral reforms,” she said, adding that the two planned a “binational commission” to tackle a range of issues from Niger Delta violence to electoral reforms.
Mr Maduekwe appeared sanguine over Mrs Clinton’s mild criticism, which US officials had said would be tougher in private with Washington’s fifth biggest oil supplier.
“We recognise that when we get criticisms, even from our own people; not all those criticisms are intended to annoy or provoke malevolence. Many of them are based on a genuine concern that Nigeria should do better,” Mr Maduekwe said.
Corruption has been a theme of Mrs Clinton’s seven-nation, 11-day trip to Africa, echoing US president Barack Obama when he visited Ghana last month.
She was given an update on a 60-day amnesty period in the Niger Delta, an effort to end years of militant attacks on the oil industry, which have prevented Nigeria from pumping its full capacity. Central Bank governor Lamido Sanusi said the crisis was costing $1 billion (€700 million) a month in lost revenues.