Foreign intelligence agencies and foreign organisations – including those tied to the CIA, Britain’s MI6, and US billionaire Bill Gates – are directly involved in drafting Nigeria’s health and food laws.
A leaked brochure obtained by West Africa Weekly has revealed that several entities linked to foreign intelligence agencies and private foreign interests like the Gates Foundation are officially listed among the “development partners” of the National Assembly (NASS). The brochure was produced to mark the 10th NASS Open Week held from 8 to 10 July 2025.
Among the listed organisations are the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which is the parent agency of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Sercvice (SIS/MI6), the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) which is funded by the MacArthur Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German state-funded political foundation with a long history of CIA collaboration; and YIAGA Africa, which is funded by the CIA’s notorious regime-change cutout, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
These organisations have directly participated in drafting legislation with major national security significance, including bills regarding state policing, security sector reforms, local government autonomy, the Petroleum Industry Act, tax reform modernisation, and formulation of national healthcare and food security policy.
Such partnerships, under the cover of civil society and development work, amount to direct foreign interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs. Their existence undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty and legislative independence, especially where they give foreign intelligence agencies the ability to use funding to embed themselves within the strategy and execution layers of the Nigerian government.
Despite this, the National Assembly described the partnerships in the leaked document as “beneficial.” It claims the collaborations have “strengthened legislative capacity, promoted inclusion, and enriched perspectives.” The brochure also described such foreign engagement as proof of alignment between Parliament, civil society, and “development partners.”
Of special concern is a section of the brochure titled “Strengthening Multisectoral Synergy in Nutrition and Food Security at the Federal, States, and Local Government Levels,” which specifically reveals the presence of the Gates Foundation and at last 6 of its proxy actors on a 9-member panel on Nigeria’s food policy space – effectively astroturfing an important public discourse about national food policy by ensuring that 7 of the 9 participants were working for the same person.
Ekenem Isichei, Deputy Director at the Gates Foundation, Michael Ojo, Country Director of the Gates-funded Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and Sunday Okoronkwo, Executive Secretary of the Gates-funded Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (SUNN) were all listed as panelists on the food and nutrition policy session. UNICEF, which had its Head of Nutrition, Nemat Hajeebhoy as a representative on the panel, is also a longtime funding beneficiary of the Gates Foundation.
Also listed as a panelist is Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) National President Engr. Bello Lawal. Engr. Lawal is known to enjoy a close working relationship with the Gates-funded Management Sciences for Health (MSH), and ALGON itself is also a funding beneficiary of the Gates Foundation. Dr. Ahmed Abdulwahab, Health Adviser at the Gates-funded Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) is listed as a panelist. Finally, Uju Anwuka is listed with her double designation as SSA to the President on Public Health and Focal Person at Nutrition-774 (N-774). The N-774 initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation.
The documented overwhelming presence of Bill Gates and his interests on what purported to be a legislative discussion panel provides hard evidence to support what activists in the space have long maintained – that Bill Gates and his multiple local and foreign proxies directly interfere in Nigeria’s state decision making processes with a view to influencing the country’s national health and food security frameworks.
The brochure confirms that foreign actors are not merely advising, but actively participating in policy formulation at the highest levels of governance in Nigeria. In addition to direct involvement in Nigeria’s governance processes, these foreign actors also provide funding to local civil society groups which act as their proxies in a complex political astroturfing operation that ultimately shapes laws that govern all aspects of the lives of Nigerians. Their influence extends from health and nutrition to critical security and economic policies—areas that are central to Nigeria’s survival and corporate existence.
As a country with the stated ambition of becoming Africa’s continental economic and political hegemon, Nigeria’s entanglement with Western foreign interference extensions at its highest levels of government raises serious concerns about the true situation of Nigeria’s national ambitions, and whether its legislative outcomes reflect the will of the Nigerian people or that of hostile foreign interests operating under the label of “development support.”
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I’m not surprised, APC government don finish us
It’s so sad to see a few people take decisions that will directly affect millions of people negatively and they don’t care because of their selfish reasons.
As long as it gives them some dollars.
The country is really heading towards a rock,we going to be okay 🥺
We are in big mess, if this should be allowed to scale through, civil society groups, pressure groups should be alerted by this and swoop into action, if not in 10 years time ,there will be a lot more health and other problems in this country
Unfortunately, most of our politicians do not know their jobs, that’s why they allowed such.
We are in a dip shit with this control. With the illegitimate president it’s gonna be an easy ride for the wolves in sheeps’ clothing
We are in more trouble than we realise…We need this information out there, cause the Nigerian youths needs to understand how bad it’s getting, this is enough to provoke us and force us to action against this government that is hell bent on destroying our future
We are in a terrible era, there is no Nigerian agenda in our policy, just policies of interests and subordination.
Is either we stand up as a people and resist this menace by exercising maximum pressure on national Assembly to pass the electoral reform, via mandatory electronic transfer of results without glitches. If we can not directly choose our leaders in Nigeria this is the consequences of minding your business, other will be choosing the type of food you eat, medicine you take, disease they want to affect you, how resources you can acquire etc…
We better stand up or we are doomed even our president is a chief puppet of the C1A.
They would not tolerate this in their own country
Just seeing different connected dots and all I can say is that “it’s well”
This is daylight interference at the highest level. But, we will kick this out strategically!
Thank you West Africa Weekly and David for all your great work. For Nigeria to be truly independent, plenty of crimson has to flow and flow freely
It’s obvious that Bill Gate is strongly involved in all levels of government in Nigeria. Greed is the root of our problem.
Why are we pouring water into baskets?
This is why they do everything to ensure we don’t have any reasonable institution where bright people are trained so no one will be confident enough to hold them accountable.
If we so need foreign advisors in policy making, why didn’t they hire people from Japan and other progressive Asian countries?