A United States lawmaker, Riley M. Moore, has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of spending millions lobbying the US Congress while allegedly failing to address insecurity and violence in Nigeria.
TheTimes Nigeria reports that Moore made the remarks in a series of posts on his verified X (formerly Twitter) page.
The lawmaker disclosed that the US House Appropriations Committee had passed a State Department funding bill aimed at addressing insecurity and human rights concerns in Nigeria.
“The Tinubu Administration is spending millions lobbying Congress while failing to adequately address the genocide Nigerian Christians face daily,” Moore wrote.
He added that the bill introduces strict conditions for US assistance to Nigeria, with emphasis on accountability and protection of human rights.
According to Moore, the proposed legislation prioritises atrocities prevention, religious freedom, and prosecution of armed groups.
“Further, the law requires that any US assistance prioritizes: atrocities prevention, advancing religious freedom, prosecuting Fulani ethnic militia groups, criminal gangs, and other jihadist terrorist groups,” he said.
He added that the bill also focuses on accountability for security agencies, humanitarian support, and strengthening faith-based organisations in affected communities.
Moore said he worked with fellow lawmaker Mario Diaz-Balart to introduce restrictions on security assistance to Nigeria.
“In this bill, I worked with @MarioDB to restrict Security Assistance to Nigeria unless certain criteria are met, including effectively responding to violence and holding perpetrators accountable,” he said.
He noted that the legislation mandates US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to assess Nigeria’s compliance with the outlined conditions.
The lawmaker further stated that the bill places Nigeria under stricter oversight by US authorities.
“The Secretary is required to submit a plan for every dollar appropriated to Nigeria, and every dollar spent will have direct Congressional oversight,” he said.
He added that funding was also included to address insecurity in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, particularly in Plateau and Benue states.
Moore maintained that the Nigerian government had not met expectations tied to previous US security assistance.
“In my view, the Tinubu Administration has failed to live up to the conditions the appropriations committee placed on security assistance,” he said.
