By Emmanuel Onyedika
The US House of Representatives has passed a fiscal year spending bill containing provisions to cut foreign assistance to Nigeria over alleged targeted violence against Christians and other vulnerable communities.
The bill mandates withholding all foreign assistance to Nigeria until the US certifies that the Nigerian government is taking effective steps to protect Christians from violence.
Gregory Steube, who represents Florida’s 17th congressional district, proposed the amendment to increase the reduction of assistance from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. The measure, adopted by voice vote on Wednesday, will remain in effect until the US Secretary of State certifies that Nigeria has taken “effective steps to prevent and respond to violence and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Steube said: “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. Nigeria has faced a horrific wave of violence that its corrupt government has failed to address. For years, Christians and other religious minorities have been subjected to violence and terrorism at the hands of extremists operating with impunity.”
He cited abductions, assaults and killings of Christian women and girls, as well as the burning of churches and destruction of communities. He argued that US taxpayers’ money should not be funnelled to governments that fail to uphold religious freedom or protect citizens from persecution.
Steube also criticised foreign aid to Nigeria at a time when America’s debt nears $40 trillion, urging that such funds be redirected to defend and uphold American values.
The bill was agreed to months after President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over claims of Christian genocide.