The House of Representatives has adopted an amendment sponsored by United States Congressman Gregory Steube to withhold all US assistance to Nigeria until the country meets specific conditions to tackle violence.
A voice vote on Wednesday approved the amendment which was added to the fiscal 2027 State Department spending bill.
The House later passed 217-209 largely along party lines.
Steube who announced the vote on X, said “my amendment to withhold 100% of U.S. aid to Nigeria until its government stops the slaughter of Christians has passed.
“American taxpayers should never bankroll governments that turn a blind eye while Christians are abducted, tortured, and murdered. No more wasteful foreign aid!”
The bill had originally proposed withholding 50 per cent of funds appropriated for Nigeria until the US Secretary of State confirms that Nigeria has put in place “effective steps to prevent and respond to violence and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Steube’s amendment raises that threshold to 100 per cent, while leaving the certification conditions unchanged.
Steube told the House during plenary that Nigeria “has faced a horrific wave of violence that its corrupt government has failed to address,” adding that withholding only half the funding meant rewarding a government that “fails to meet such a basic obligation.”
The congressman noted that the amendment does not add new conditions but “only strengthens” the existing ones, and framed it as a matter of accountability.
“Foreign aid should never be a reward for failure,” he said.
Steube also asked why the US should keep sending money to Nigeria “as our national debt is fast approaching $40 trillion.”
The Senate still has to concur before being sent to the president for assenting before it can take effect, meaning Wednesday’s vote does not immediately change US funding to Nigeria.
