International campaigners have joined the government in asking why Nigeria is ineligible for debt reduction under the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) programme set up in 1996 by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and extended three years later. Nigeria is excluded even though its per capita income levels and ratio of debt to gross national product are comparable with those of the 42 countries included in the HIPC initiative, which covers every other state in mainland west Africa south of the Sahara.