Daily Independent Online.
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Thursday, July 01, 2004.
Nigeria signs N63bn grant pact with U.S
By Sanya Adejokun and
Bassey
Udo, Senior Correspondents, Abuja
Nigeria on Wednesday signed four grant agreements
with the United States for the provision of $460 million (about N63.20 billion)
development assistance over the next five years.
Under the agreements, the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) plans to guarantee support for activities in
some critical areas, including democratic governance, agriculture and economic
growth, social sector service delivery and HIV/AIDS mitigation.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John
Campbell, signed the agreement on behalf of the US government, while Mr. Dawn
Liberi, the Nigerian Mission director penned his signature on behalf of USAID
and Professor Ode Ojowu, the economic adviser to the President did same on
behalf of the Federal Government.
A US Embassy statement at the end of the event
indicated that the execution of the agreements demonstrated “the strong
relationship between the two countries and the commitment of the United States
government to the achievement of the goals of Nigeria’s National Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and USAID/Nigeria country
Strategic Plan (CSP) 2004-2009.”
USAID’s SCP objectives are closely aligned with the
NEEDS goals of wealth creation, poverty reduction, employment generation and
value re-orientation and benefits.
