Nigeria makes final payment in debt relief program

Nigeria makes final payment in debt relief program

ABUJA, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Nigeria ordered a final debt repayment to rich lending nations on Friday, completing Africa's biggest debt relief deal that will free up billions of dollars in coming years to fight poverty.
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On Friday, Nigeria's central bank arranged for a final installment of $4.5 billion to be transferred to creditors' accounts, the head of the Debt Management Office (DMO) said.
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Nigeria is the world's eighth biggest exporter of crude oil and its earnings have soared thanks to high prices on world markets, allowing it to build up $36 billion of foreign reserves.

But it is also one of the world's poorest countries, with the majority of its 140 million inhabitants getting by on less than $1 a day.
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/04/21/Nigeria.debt.reut/index.html