approved the disbursement of $35 million in military and defence
support services to France as part of Washington's contribution to the
war against the terror group, Boko Haram.
The White House said the aid is on account of the Paris active support
for Nigeria's French speaking neighbours--Niger and Chad--in their fight
against Boko Haram insurgents as well as Mali, which is battling
Islamic extremism.
The three French-speaking have been in the forefront of the war
against Islamic terrorism.
No reference was made to Nigeria, which is the worst hit by Boko
Haram's terrorist assaults.
The outgoing Jonathan administration has not enjoyed the best of
relations with President Obama over the Nigerian leader's initial
questionable response of the US to the Boko Haram menace.
Agency report yesterday said a US government official simply
reaffirmed that the $35 million funding was in support of French
operations, which are not taking place in Nigeria.
Some diplomats expect that once President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari,
assumes office on May 29, the White House will announce some new
initiatives to support the overall fight against terror groups in
Nigeria.
Recently at Time magazine's 100 influential people gala in New York
City, top US government officials, including Samantha Powers, promised
that the US would do more to support the search for the Chibok girls
and the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Titled "Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(1) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961," the White House statement noted that
President Obama had authorised Secretary of State John Kerry to
facilitate the US assistance to Mali, Niger and Chad, significantly
omitting Nigeria, where terror groups had captured significant
territories and killed thousands of people in suicide attacks and
military operations.
In the White House statement, President Obama delegated to the
Secretary of State "the authority under section 506(a)(1) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the drawdown of up to $35
million in defense services of the Department of Defense to provide
assistance to France in its efforts to secure Mali, Niger, and Chad
from terrorists and violent extremists and to make the determinations
required under such section to direct such a drawdown."
US-Nigeria relationship on Boko Haram has been rocky, leading the
Nigerian Ambassador to the US openly stating the American government
had not given Nigeria the needed support especially in the area of
weapons.
The US government refused to sell US-made Cobra fighter-helicopters to Nigeria.
It was gathered that even when Nigeria decided to purchase the
helicopters from Israel, Washington declined to give its consent for
the deal to sail through.
Under the terms of US-Israeli ties, the Israeli government
cannot transfer the military helicopters to a third country unless the
US government okayed the transaction.
A US military training of a unit of the Nigerian military was also
abruptly ended late last year as the Americans said Nigeria asked for
the training to stop.
--thenationonlineng.net
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