Iran announced on Thursday it had agreed to share peaceful nuclear technology with Nigeria, aiming to help Africa’s biggest oil producer boost its electrical-generation output.
The head of the Iranian delegation said it was his country’s right to share its nuclear know-how with Nigeria. Mohammad Ali Zeyghami, a top commerce official, said fossil fuels would one day disappear and that it was crucial to develop clean energy.
“Nobody can limit the use of knowledge anywhere in the world,” Zeyghami said.
Tijanni Kaura, a senior Nigerian Foreign Ministry official, stressed that the agreement dealt only with power production and shouldn’t be misconstrued as an attempt to gain a nuclear weapons program.
“Nigeria is never entering into any agreement with Iran for any matter that has to do with weapons,” Kaura said.
“There shouldn’t be a misunderstanding between exploration or uses of energy to provide power and the uses of energy for weapons ... so that our relationship with Iran will not be misconstrued by Nigerians and the entire international community,” Kaura said.
Iran has refused to comply with repeated international demands to halt nuclear enrichment, a process that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear weapons or nuclear energy. The US suspects the country is trying to make weapons, but Iran says its only aim is power production.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest petroleum producer, but neglect and corruption have left it with almost no way to refine crude oil into fuels used to power electricity-generating stations.
Most of the country’s 140 million inhabitants see only a few hours of state-provided electricity per day, and industry must rely on costly diesel generators to power plants.
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