The United States has said that it is fully committed to its partnership with Nigeria especially in the fight against insurgency and corruption.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, stated this on Friday during an interactive session with Nigerians on Facebook.
He said “The U.S. has for years had a beneficial working relationship with the Nigerian military, especially in the counter-terrorism struggle against Boko Haram. Now more than ever, we are committed to assisting our Nigerian partners as appropriate. That involves training, sharing of information and, in some cases, helping the military with its equipment needs.
“No partner is doing more to help Nigeria against Boko Haram than the United States. We hope to train more Nigerian troops; we are glad to discuss weapons transfers and engage in significant information sharing which I cannot discuss in detail in this setting.
“We also are doing everything we can to support the population of internally displaced Nigerians from the North-East and to help Nigeria create conditions that will prevent something like the scourge of Boko Haram from ever happening again in the country.”
On President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Washington, he said “I have just returned from Washington, where I had the privilege of participating in a very successful visit by President Buhari. President Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry (and several other members of the Cabinet) made clear to President Buhari and his delegation that we see this as a unique moment in the history of Nigeria and that we are very encouraged by the priorities that President Buhari has laid out.
“Thus, as was said in Washington, the U.S. is ‘all in’ in our desire to see how, building on our already excellent relationship, we can appropriately help the new Nigerian administration to, among other things, mount an effective counter-terrorism effort, battle the scourge of corruption and reform the economy.
“As I always say, the U.S. and Nigeria are partners, which means that the U.S. is not here to do things “for” Nigeria, but rather “with” Nigeria as two equal partners working to make the world a better place. In the wake of Mr. President’s trip to Washington, we are more enthusiastic than ever about this partnership which covers a wide array of issues.”
Meanwhile Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has said that the United States shunned former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration because of mistrust.
Okorocha said, “The US made it clear that it could not support the government of Jonathan because it was not comfortable with it.
“Now the American government has promised to help us fight the Boko Haram sect and provide for the Internally Displaced Persons.”
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