Nigeria pays its debt

Nigeria has paid off its multi-billion dollar Paris Club debt, becoming the first African nation to settle with its official lenders. BBC News reports that the move may clear the way for greater government spending on infrastructure, healthcare and education, and is hoped will prompt greater foreign investment. Nigeria has undertaken a programme of economic reforms and the oil exporter has been helped by record crude prices. The Paris Club is a group of 19 lenders including the United Kingdom, Russia, and Germany. After the payment in dollars worth more than 27-billion rand, Nigeria still will owe about 30-billion rand to other lenders, including the World Bank and the private sector.