MPs to explore the future for the UK’s development partnership with Nigeria
MPs on the International Development Committee will continue to investigate what’s ahead for the UK’s development partnership with Nigeria, in the second session of its inquiry.
As the committee considers the shape that the UK’s relationship with Nigeria should take, members will hear evidence from a range of witnesses with first-hand experience of peacebuilding in the country.
The UK has reset its development partnership with Nigeria, anchored in the Nigeria-UK Strategic Partnership, signed in November 2024. The agreement focuses on strengthening Nigerian institutions and domestically financed development, alongside continuing UK aid spending.
The session comes as Nigeria continues to face development challenges, despite its economic growth and young population. Instability is growing, as is violence by armed criminal groups known as “bandits”, while climate-related security risks are increasing people’s vulnerability. This is giving rise to a concern that the UK Government’s longer-term strategic plan in the country could be undermined by internal instability.
Meeting details
In the first panel, MPs will explore drivers of instability with a focus on why people join extremist or bandit groups. They will also set out to assess the impact of instability on women and girls, with questions about the specific risks across northern Nigeria and the reasons why this region has experienced so many kidnappings of women and girls.
In the second panel, the Committee will ask about how Nigeria is impacted by regional conflicts, as well as the impact of instability within Nigeria on the wider region. There will also be questions about how climate change will contribute to further instability and how current conflicts over natural resources can be mitigated.