US embassy cable - 04ABUJA677

UNCLAS ABUJA 000677 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E FOR ANNE PENCE 
EB/IFD/OIA FOR MARSHA KELLEY AND TIM HAUSER 
INL/C FOR DAVID LUNA AND JOHN BRANDOLINO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KCOR, ECON, EAID, NI 
SUBJECT: PROGRESS OF G-8 TRANSPARENCY/ANTI-CORRUPTION 
WORKING GROUP (GETAWG) IN NIGERIA 
 
REF: ABUJA 393 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR PUBLISHING ON INTERNET 
OR INTRANET. 
 
1. (SBU) The G-8 embassies, IMF, and World Bank in Abuja 
created the G-8 Transparency/Anti-corruption Working Group 
(GETAWG) here in March, and have moved forward with 
preparations for the Nigeria pilot program under Evian per 
reftel and e-mails from E, EB and AF.  GETAWG has begun a 
"living document" matrix of transparency and anti-corruption 
programs in Nigeria funded by the G-8, World Bank and IMF 
directly, and indirectly through the EU and UNDP (which also 
sit in at GETAWG meetings).  That matrix will be ready for 
beginning negotiations with the GON on a comprehensive 
Technical Plan after the next GETAWG meeting May 3, and the 
GON says it will be ready to work with us from that point. 
 
2. (SBU) Meetings on March 22 and April 2 produced a GETAWG 
consensus on moving forward with the GON on both the joint 
Political Statement and the comprehensive Technical Plan in 
order to have both rolled out as a Compact at the June 8-10 
Sea Island G-8 Summit.  It will be a very tight schedule, and 
GETAWG members here have not received cleared instructions 
for the Political Statement from G-8 capitals.  Internally, 
GETAWG is chaired by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, as the U.S. 
will host the G-8 Summit, and the chair will pass to the UK 
when it becomes Summit host for the next year.  The UK High 
Commission told us it did not want to share the chair this 
year, although we believe that it will be both U.S. and UK 
chiefs of mission who will represent GETAWG in formal 
discussions with the GON on either or both parts of the 
Compact.  Most other GETAWG members are quite happy to leave 
to the U.S./UK all interaction with the GON on the Compact, 
in part because they all seem to be having trouble getting 
instructions from capitals. 
 
3. (SBU) PolCouns met with GON anti-corruption coordinator 
Oby Ezekwesili on April 16 to discuss a timetable for 
building the Compact in time for rollout at Sea Island.  She 
believes, as GETAWG does, that rolling out a joint Political 
Statement and comprehensive Technical Plan will be difficult 
but possible by Sea Island.  When the GON Economic Team 
returns to Abuja from Brussels and Washington around April 
26, it will organize itself that week in order to meet with 
GETAWG here in the first or at latest second week of May to 
compare GETAWG's Matrix with what they see as 
existing/desired GON initiatives for the Technical Plan. 
Their presentation on the Technical Plan will be organized 
around those GON initiatives, not G-8 programs, and 
discussions on this track will essentially be a mapping 
exercise of comparing the two and identifying gaps.  Time 
considerations before Sea Island will decide how detailed 
that mapping process becomes, and work will continue after 
Sea Island on both more detail and implementation. 
 
4. (SBU) Ezekwesili strongly urged that the GON not be 
presented with any G-8 negotiating draft, model or even model 
elements for the joint Political Statement part of the 
Compact.  The GON would strongly prefer to draft the 
Political Statement and negotiate it with us, and wants to be 
able to say the G-8 signed on to their draft and not the 
other way around.  If the G-8 wishes to use their draft or 
the signed agreement as a model for other pilots, they have 
no objection.  The GON would hope to present us a draft joint 
Political Statement early in May too, she said, and work that 
simultaneously with, but probably in separate meetings from, 
work with us on the Technical Plan.  Ezekwesili said the GON 
goal is to have the joint Political Statement encompass the 
goals of the comprehensive Technical Plan, as well as setting 
out overall goals and benchmarks.  She said she guesses 
President Obasanjo would rather roll out the total Compact 
during his NEPAD presentation at Sea Island, instead of 
having it rolled out separately as a G-8 anti-corruption 
program. 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT:  The GON's desire for ownership of the 
Political Statement draft happens to coincide with GETAWG 
internal dynamics in Abuja.  While all GETAWG members have 
contributed to both the programs matrix and lively discussion 
upon it, none have been willing to contribute proposals on 
what they want in the Political Statement.  Even the UK High 
Commission and DfID here have not provided ideas, not being 
sure what London wants and remaining a little suspicious that 
G-8 meetings in Washington have not produced agreement on 
guidance for the Political Statement. 
ROBERTS