HL Deb 01 April 1976 vol 369 cc1396-7WA
Lord BARNBY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why it is still considered necessary to disburse £32 million as Overseas Aid to Nigeria, when it is such an "oil rich" country and already receives large payments for such oil from Great Britain.

Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOE

Our capital aid commitments to Nigeria amount to £32.3 million and were made and accepted prior to 1972 when the country began to benefit from its oil revenues. Since then, our capital aid disbursements have been confined to projects then being implemented and those to which we were committed. The present position is that £10.4 million remains unspent, of which approximately £3.8 million will be disbursed on those projects. The balance of £6.6 million remains free and neither we nor the Nigerian Governmenet have any plans for its expenditure.