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US President Bill Clinton described the election of Olusegun Obasanjo as signalling “a new day for Nigeria and new hope for Africa” at a joint news conference held at the White House on Thursday.
“Nigeria is a pivot point on which the future of all Africa and much of the world will turn. I am very glad that country is in the hands of this leader today,” the US Information Agency (USIA) quoted Clinton as saying after talks with President Obasanjo.
He added that he had requested sufficient funds from the US Congress to triple or quadruple America’s bilateral aid to Nigeria, USIA said. The United States will also do whatever it legally can to help Nigeria recover funds looted by previous regimes and banked in the US and Switzerland, USIA reported.
The Nigerian authorities believe that more than US $5 billion of state money was illegally taken out of the country, the BBC reported.
Washington has also promised to help Nigeria reduce its debt by supporting “generous debt rescheduling through the Paris Club,” according to USIA.
Obasanjo began on Thursday his first official visit to Washington since coming to power in May. The United States is Nigeria’s largest trade and investment partner, relying on the West African nation for 8 percent of its imported oil, Reuters reported.
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