US embassy cable - 04ABUJA2047

UNCLAS ABUJA 002047 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR E, AF AND EB, AND PASS TO USAID 
USAID FOR AFR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KCOR, EAID, NI 
SUBJECT:  NIGERIA'S SEA ISLAND COMPACT ACTION PLAN 
DELAYED 
 
 
1.  Summary:  The GON's Senior Special Adviser to the 
President, Oby Ezekwesili, invited Poloff to her office 
on December 10 to receive the updated Nigeria-G8 action 
plan.  She instead also invited World Bank Senior 
Advisor Charles McPherson and, with McPherson as 
audience, used the meeting to lecture Poloff on how she 
thought U.S. anti-corruption priorities were different 
from those of the rest of the G8.  She said the updated 
action plan was not yet ready, and promised to provide 
it on December 16.  End Summary. 
 
2.  On December 8, Oby's office called the Embassy and 
requested Poloff meet with Oby on Friday, December 10 
at 4pm to receive the long-awaited GON-G8 action plan. 
Finance Minister Ngozi had said it would be provided 
three weeks earlier, but internal delays within GON had 
delayed it. 
 
3.  When Poloff arrived at the scheduled date and time, 
Mr. Charles McPherson, Washington-based Senior Adviser 
to the World Bank's Oil, Gas, Mining & Chemicals 
Department, was already in Oby's office.  Oby asked 
Poloff to come in, and by way of introduction told 
McPherson, "As I was saying to you, (Poloff) and his 
government don't care about EITI because it's not their 
baby.  The U.S. wants their own things because they 
want to show they did something while they were in 
charge of the G8."  Poloff responded that the U.S. has 
chaired the G8 as a whole in 2004, and its G8 
Transparency/Anti-Corruption Working Group (GETAWG) of 
G8 member embassies, IMF and World Bank in Abuja. 
Poloff described GETAWG's work  over the past year with 
the GON to McPherson, who was not familiar with GETAWG. 
(Note:  Abuja-based World Bank staffer Victoria Kwakwa 
is a member of the GETAWG, but has rarely attended 
meetings.  End Note.) 
 
4.  Oby laughed loudly and told McPherson she "enjoyed 
diplomatese," but said that the U.S. wants its own 
things, not EITI, so she "goes through the motions" to 
give the U.S. what it wants.  She told McPherson that 
she could continue working with the World Bank to "fill 
in the gaps where the U.S. isn't interested."  Laughing 
again, Oby said she was amused by the "battle of egos 
between the U.S. and the UK over EITI."  (Note:  As Oby 
well knows, the USG provides active support to EITI 
inside and outside GETAWG.  End Note.) 
 
5.  Oby waved a folder full of 10-20 sheets of paper, 
saying she had been working on the action plan the U.S. 
demanded and would "whittle all of this" into three 
specific requests, and the "U.S. could do what it wants 
with it."  She said the GON's action plan would be 
ready December 16 when the Finance Minister returned 
from her travel to sign the document, which would then 
be faxed to U/S Larson.  Oby agreed to e-mail Poloff a 
copy for G8 representatives in GETAWG after the Finance 
Minister had signed the hard copy. 
 
6.  Oby then ushered McPherson and Poloff out of her 
office.  On the way out, McPherson expressed to Oby the 
World Bank's interest in supporting the GON's audit 
function.  Oby replied that she knew she could count on 
the support of the World Bank and the UK's Department 
for International Development (DFID). 
CAMPBELL