Nigeria is being used by Britain as a conduit to bankroll Zimbabwe's main opposition in a bid to unseat President Robert's Mugabe's government in next year's legislative elections, a state-owned paper said Sunday.
The Sunday Mail reported that Nigeria, through its diplomats in Harare, had promised the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) at least 200 million Zimbabwe dollars (about 36 million US dollars) for the March 2005 electoral campaign.
The promise reportedly was made at a meeting between top MDC officials, including its leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Nigerian embassy officials in the capital on July 28. Under Zimbabwe law, political parties are prohibited from accepting funds from foreign donors.
The MDC rejected the allegations, denying ever meeting Nigerian officials in Zimbabwe. "The allegation is completely without any merit," said MDC spokesman William Bango.
Relations between Zimbabwe and Nigeria have soured in recent months especially after Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to invite Mugabe to last December's Commonwealth summit in Abuja and backed the decision to prolong Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth.
Tensions are also high with former colonial ruler Britain over Zimbabwe's land reform program that saw thousands of white farmers evicted from their land that was handed to landless blacks.
Some of the evicted white farmers have been given farmland in Kwara state of Nigeria.
"It is believed that these farmers have been instrumental in securing British funding for the MDC, which is being channelled through Nigeria," said the pro-government Sunday Mail.