The U.S Secretary of State, Mr. Mike Pompeo, has announced an additional $40 million aid to Nigeria to fight humanitarian crisis arising from decades of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Pompeo, who made the announcement in Washington DC, said that the gesture was in addition to about $350 million in assistance provided by the U.S. last year.
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry reported on Wednesday in a statement that Pompeo spoke during a joint briefing with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, after the U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission (BNC).
“The foreign minister and I also discussed today the massive humanitarian crisis that the conflict with Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa and other religious and ethnic violence.
“We know that these issues are hard. We know that they’re complicated.
“But I strongly encourage the Nigerian government to do more to protect its civilians, including religious communities and the humanitarian organisations seeking to assist them,’’ the ministry said.
The BNC is a platform for the Nigerian and U.S. governments to expand cooperation and advance shared goals in the areas of trade and investment, development, good governance and security.
Pompeo said the two-day meeting also featured discussions on security cooperation between both countries, especially Nigeria’s “recent purchase’’ of 12 U.S.-made A-29 fighter planes worth 500 million dollars.
The sale of the aircraft, according to him, “is in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of building “a security force with the best training and modern weaponry”.
He said the U.S. would “hold Nigeria to the pledge’’ of ensuring that the country’s military operates with the highest standards of respect for human rights.
Onyeama described the security challenges facing the country as an existential threat, but was quick to note that they were being addressed with respect for human rights.
MM/GIK/APA