Borno South Senator Ali Ndume has urged the Nigerian government to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding Boko Haram and other terrorist organisations.
This call to action follows statements from Pennsylvanian Republican lawmaker Scot Perry, who raised concerns during a recent hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency. In his remarks, Perry claimed that USAID was channeling significant funds, reportedly $697 million, to groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda.
Perry expressed skepticism about USAID’s financial allocations, specifically questioning a reported expenditure of $136 million for the construction of 120 schools in Pakistan, suggesting a lack of documentation to support this claim.
In response, Senator Ndume stated on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics that the allegations made by Perry warrant serious consideration and scrutiny.
According to Ndume: “You can’t say it’s just an allegation; it’s more than that.
“That’s why the Nigerian government and the National Assembly, especially, need to look into it to investigate and verify the veracity of such a very weighty allegation.
“This development is very worrisome, especially because one of the terrorist organisations mentioned by Scott Perry is Boko Haram, and Boko Haram has ravaged not only the North-East but even other parts of Nigeria.
“You can remember Boko Haram bombed the police headquarters and the UN office in Abuja, and the casualties were enormous. So, the Nigerian government must be interested.
“I’m worried, but the Nigerian security agencies have raised this indirectly several times. Even the Borno State government was wary of the operations of the NGOs.
“We have been wondering for all these years where these people are getting money.”
