Members of the United States House of Representatives have supported an amendment seeking to withhold all assistance earmarked for Nigeria until the Federal Government takes effective steps to prevent violence, protect citizens and hold perpetrators accountable.
The amendment, proposed on Wednesday by Florida lawmaker, Gregory Steube, would increase the amount of assistance to be withheld from 50 per cent to 100 per cent.
The House had earlier proposed in April that half of the funds appropriated for Nigeria should be withheld until the US Secretary of State certifies that the Nigerian government has taken credible action to address violence and prosecute those responsible.
Speaking in support of the amendment, Steube argued that retaining 50 per cent of the assistance amounted to rewarding the Nigerian government despite what he described as its failure to protect citizens.
“I rise in strong support for my amendment to increase the withholding threshold for assistance to Nigeria from 50 per cent to 100 per cent, while keeping in place benchmarks that demand Nigeria take effective steps to address the violence and persecution that continue to devastate the country,” he said.
The congressman accused the Nigerian government of failing to respond adequately to persistent insecurity and attacks on religious communities.
Steube said, “Nigeria has faced a horrific wave of violence that its corrupt government has failed to address.
“For years, and especially in recent months, Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria have been subjected to violence and terrorism at the hands of extremists operating with impunity.”
Steube said women, girls and worship centres had continued to suffer attacks, arguing that the scale of the violence justified stronger conditions on US assistance.
“Christian women and girls continue to be abducted, assaulted, tortured, and killed. Their churches are burned, and entire communities are erased,” he said.
He argued that if the security and accountability benchmarks were serious enough to justify withholding half of the funds, they should also warrant suspending the entire assistance package.
“If the aid conditions included in the bill are important enough to withhold half of all the funding to the Nigerian government, then they are important enough to withhold all of the funding,” he added.
The Republican lawmaker said American taxpayers’ funds should not be released to governments accused of failing to protect religious freedom or confront terrorism.
Steube said, “The generosity of our taxpayers is a reflection of the American values we hold so firmly.
“Never should we allow their hard-earned tax dollars to be funnelled to corrupt regimes that fail to uphold religious freedom, fail to adequately confront terrorism, and fail to protect the innocent from persecution.
“So, why are we rewarding a government that fails to meet such a basic obligation?”
Steube also questioned the continued provision of foreign assistance to Nigeria amid rising insecurity and the United States’ growing national debt.
He said it was unreasonable to release funds without ensuring that the assistance was being used in a manner consistent with American interests and values.
According to him, the amendment would give Washington greater leverage to pressure the Nigerian government to protect vulnerable communities, confront terrorist groups and ensure accountability for violent crimes.
The proposal would require Nigeria to meet the stipulated security and human rights conditions before the withheld assistance could be released.
