The United States Mission to Nigeria has announced that monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to ensure the utilisation of aid allocated to Nigeria and other countries.
This follows US President Donald Trump’s 20 January 2025 decision to suspend all foreign aid for 90 days, citing concerns about global destabilisation and misalignment with American interests.
In a post on its verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, the US Mission to Nigeria confirmed that monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to track past assistance provided by the US government.
“Comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to help verify that U.S. assistance reaches intended recipients,” the mission stated.
The announcement comes amid growing scrutiny of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has faced allegations of misappropriating taxpayer funds.
US Congressman Scott Perry recently claimed that USAID had funded terrorist organisations, including Boko Haram.
Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, made the claim during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on 14 February 2025.
The session, titled, ‘The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,’ focused on allegations of financial mismanagement within US foreign aid programmes.
“Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding,” Perry said.
The US Mission to Nigeria also condemned ongoing violence by Boko Haram and other extremist groups.
“The United States condemns the violence and blatant disregard for human life perpetrated by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in Nigeria and the region,” it stated.
“The Secretary of State designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation on November 14, 2013 to block the organization’s assets and fundraising efforts, prosecute individual members, and restrict their travel to the United States.
“The United States continues to work with Nigeria and regional partners to counter terrorism.”
It further reiterated that Boko Haram was officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US Secretary of State on 14 November 2013.
The designation aims to block the group’s assets, restrict its fundraising, prosecute its members, and prevent their travel to the United States.
Meanwhile, Perry’s allegations add to a broader debate on USAID’s role in global security. He cited USAID’s reported $136 million expenditure to build 120 schools in Pakistan, claiming that there was “zero evidence” of their construction.
“You are funding terrorism, and it’s coming through USAID. And it’s not just Afghanistan, because Pakistan’s right next door,” Perry alleged.
Trump, who has long called for the closure of USAID, has accused the agency of corruption. His administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has vowed to investigate USAID’s activities.
Musk has called USAID “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America” and alleged that it engages in rogue CIA operations.
His department’s mandate includes “dismantling government bureaucracy, slashing excessive regulations, cutting wasteful expenditures, and restructuring federal agencies.”