The UK and Nigeria have had excellent bilateral relationships. The Under-Secretary of State, my noble Friend Lord Triesman, visited Nigeria on 1 February and had discussions with the President, the Interior Minister, the Minister for Federal Capital Territory and the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. He had discussions with the Vice-President in London on 19 February.
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. I recently met a delegation of Nigerian parliamentarians who were concerned about the integrity of the forthcoming elections. Have the Government discussed that with the Nigerian Government? What support are we giving to ensure that those elections take place on a proper basis?
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We have indeed discussed the matter and we understand the vice-president’s concerns about the unfairness of the process. We have commitments from the Government and the electoral commission that elections will be held on schedule in April. There is great expectation among the Nigerian people and we would be concerned if the elections were delayed for any reason. Consequently, we are helping to do two things. First, the European Union and the Commonwealth plan to send observer missions to the elections. Secondly, we have put in place a £7 million election programme fund to help create conditions for a successful election. It includes assisting with voter registration and voter education programmes.
I commend the Minister and his Department for the pressure that they have applied to the Nigerian Government to ensure that the elections take place in four weeks, thus embedding important democratic events in that strategic nation. Will he say a little more about whether we will send parliamentarians from, for example, this country, as election overseers and monitors? Will he provide more detail about how we will link with the EU in overseeing that important election?
I am hopeful that the EU and the Commonwealth will consult us about representation from this place. I will report back to the House on the discussions that are taking place to ensure that the hon. Gentleman’s wishes, which are shared cross party, come to fruition. It is critical that the observer posts are as strong as possible. A recognition of our role in Nigeria would be welcome.
What discussions has my right hon. Friend held with the Metropolitan police and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria on the seizure of property in this country by those identified as being involved in and charged with corruption? Such people effectively take the money from the poorest people in Nigeria and launder it in this country.
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I have not met the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria, but the Metropolitan police and my officials in the Foreign Office are working closely with it. In the past few months, that work has led to the arrest in London of a former Nigerian governor and the repatriation of £1 million to the people of Nigeria. We will continue such capacity building. The commission is important and it contributes to rebuilding democratic structures and institutions in Nigeria.
Substantial progress needs to be made on corruption. I give a commitment that not only the Government, but the European Union will work with a capacity-building project, to which we will contribute, to ensure that the Nigerians have the ability to track down corruption effectively, end it and return the stolen resources to their people.
Nigeria is a huge country of 140 million people. It has extreme wealth, accounting for 20 per cent. of United States oil supplies, yet it also suffers extreme poverty. One in five children does not live to the age of five; 7 million children do not go to school; and 55 per cent. of families do not have access to clean water. There is therefore a desperate need for change in that country. Will the Minister pledge today not only that we will participate fully in observer status in the elections and help the Independent National Election Commission, but—more important—that immediately after the presidential elections he will act as a broker between the United States and ourselves to ascertain how a genuine package of assistance can be put in place to help one of the poorest countries in the world?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I believe that everyone understands where we are coming from on the elections, the resources for them and observer status to ensure that they are fair, free and democratic. Again, Britain has been at the forefront of cancelling debt. For example, the United Kingdom alone has cancelled £2.8 billion. Some $18 billion of debt has been cancelled through the Paris Club deal. Indeed, 60 per cent. of Nigeria’s debt has already been written off. That is crucial for the reasons that the hon. Gentleman gave: writing off debt must channel into capacity building for health, education and infrastructure. Every dollar that we write off is a dollar to be spent on the children and citizens of Nigeria. We are at one on that.
My constituent, Mr. David Littlechild, spent some weeks earlier this year in prison in Lagos. I want to take this opportunity to put on the record my thanks to the Minister for the hard work that was undertaken by his Department, and particularly by Lord Triesman and his civil servants. There were, however, specific concerns about the speed and quality of the service of the high commission. Will the Minister make representations in respect of our embassies and high commissions in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, to ensure that British nationals are properly looked after?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, although I take no credit as my noble Friend Lord Triesman and our staff on the front line did that work. It is important to understand that our staff on the front line—whether in Africa or elsewhere where there are difficulties—try to help British nationals in distress on a daily basis. Sometimes that can be done quickly and effectively, and on other occasions it can take a considerable amount of time, but, hopefully, it is always done effectively. I will take back to the Department the hon. Gentleman’s good wishes, but I also give him this assurance—not just by our embassies working on their own, but by them working in partnership with other countries’ embassies in difficult areas of the world, we are trying to ensure that our front line has the capacity to intervene and to assist British nationals who have problems. Sometimes those problems are of their own making and sometimes they are not, but regardless we try our best to ensure that there is effective representation for them.