Fresh facts have emerged as to why the founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States, Mr. Bill Gates, cancelled his recently scheduled visit to Nigeria.
The America’s richest man was supposed to be in Nigeria between March 27 and 28, 2013 to further throw the weight of his Foundation behind the federal government in its fight against polio and other related diseases.
But shortly after the trip was scheduled, President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration granted a state pardon to former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and others assumed to be corrupt, and this prompted reports from Nigerian newspapers and social media that the US had compelled Bill Gates to cancel the visit to Nigeria as a result of the pardon especially the one granted Alamieyeseigha.
In his spirited efforts, our correspondent contacted a reliable source at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who disclosed that the United States government had no influence on Bill Gates’ cancelled visit to Nigeria.
The source was reluctant to disclose it that the trip was cancelled because of the security challenges in Nigeria after it became clear to him that all the officials of the Foundation that he earlier directed the telephone calls of our correspondent to were not ready to make the required information available.
He clearly said that there was no way Mr. Bill Gates could fly into Nigeria as schedulled under the rising security threats being posed by terrorists and members of the Boko Haram sect in the country.
The source also confirmed that the federal government has since the cancelation, been keeping in touch with the Foundation to ensure that the visit is rescheduled just as he disclosed that the real reason for the cancellation of Gate’s trip has been communicated to the Nigerian government.
He explained that the state pardon granted ex-convict Alamieyeseigha had nothing to do with the decision of the Board of the Foundation to cancel Mr. Gate’s trip since the federal government had explained that it took the action in the interest of the country.
His words: “The Nigerian government has the rights to grant a state pardon to anybody as long as it is done constitutionally, and our office has no rights to criticise the government for this. As long as we are not against the pardon, there is no reason for us to politicise it.
“The cancellation was a result of the high risk that foreigners always face in Nigeria owing to insecurity, bombings and killings by terrorist groups and Islamic Sect in the country. I can also confirm to you that the action was not because of the greatly politicised amnesty issue. Also, there was no time that the Foundation accused the Nigerian government of promoting corruption in Africa.
“I also like to state that the US government had at no time directed our boss to cancel his scheduled working visit to Nigeria as widely reported in some Newspapers and social media”
The reliable source pressed further that talks are now ongoing between the Foundation and the Nigeria government for a rescheduled visit of Bill Gates to Nigeria but stated that the security challenges in the country might make the visit impossible at this time.
It would be recalled that our correspondent had few days ago reported the official confirmation of the headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which hinted that the America’s richest man, Bill Gates, truly cancelled his scheduled March 27-28 visit to Nigeria but indicated that the cancellation was not in anyway connected to the state pardon that the federal government recently granted Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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MUST WE WAIT FOR BILL GATES TO TELL US HOW TO ERADICATE POLIO IN NIGERIA?. THIS COLONIAL MENTALITY MUST STOP. THE DANGOTES, OVIAS, ELUMELUS AND CO SHOULD COME IN NOW AND GIVE THE BITE REQUIRED TO FIGHT POLIO IN NIGERIA. ANYWAY, WE KNOW THAT SO MANY PERSONS ARE COLLECTING BLOOD MONEY FROM THE PRESENCE OF POLIO IN NIGERIA. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN "POCKET ENLARGEMENT INITIATIVE". PERIOD.
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