EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The European Commission (EC) is the executive arm of the 25-member European Union (EU). It plays a key role in the implementation of EU policies and the spending of EU funds.
The European Commission’s development cooperation with Nigeria dates back to 1976. EC aid to Nigeria was suspended in 1995 in protest at the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni leaders by the military government of General Sani Abacha. However, aid was restored following the elections of 1999 which restored democracy.
The European Commission has made available about €660 million (115 billion Naira) of development funding to Nigeria over the period 2002-2007, more than it has given to any other member of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of developing nations.
EC aid programmes for Nigeria concentrate on helping the country to use its own funding better, rather than on stand-alone projects which are isolated from Nigerian structures.
The main focus of EC aid to Nigeria during the current five-year period is on:
- Support of good governance and the provision of water and sanitation in six focal states whose governments appear committed to reform and service delivery.
- The reduction of child mortality through support for immunisation programmes
- Rural development in the Niger Delta through support for about 2,000 village-based development projects.
- Support for the 2005 census.
The European Commission is represented in Nigeria by a delegation with diplomatic status in Abuja.
The European Commission has provided a grant to finance 80 percent of the BBC World Service Trust’s Nigeria Budget Monitoring Project.