Nigeria: Britain criticised for accepting Nigerian debt repayments

The British government has drawn sharp criticism from development charities for taking a debt repayment from Nigeria which dwarfs the UK's entire annual aid budget for the African continent. The Group of Seven leading industrial countries, which met in London over the weekend, are soon to receive $12.4bn (£7.2bn) from Africa's most populous nation as part of a debt rescheduling package agreed this year by the Paris Club of creditor countries. As Britain is Nigeria's largest creditor, it is set for a windfall of £1.7bn in the coming months - considerably larger than the £1bn-a-year portion of the European Union rebate that Tony Blair has offered to give up.