U.S. Donating US$5 Million, Not US$5 Billion, To Fight Boko Haram

James Entwistle, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria. Image: American Embassy

The United States Government has said it is donating US$5million, and not US$5billion as reported in the media, to the Multinational Joint Task Force to boost the military operation against the Boko Haram insurgency.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria made this clarification on Tuesday. The embassy provided excerpts of the media briefing with members of the U.S. government delegation to the African Union Summit in Johannesburg.

PREMIUM TIMES reports:

 “Yesterday, Monday, June 15, members of the U.S. government delegation to the African Union Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa briefed reporters on the range of U.S. engagement in Africa,” the U.S. Embassy said in the statement. “It was widely reported that the United States is offering US$5 billion to the Multinational Joint Task Force to fight Boko Haram. The U.S. Embassy wishes to clarify that the amount is US$5 million.”

Earlier reports, including a version published by PREMIUM TIMES, had said the figure was $5 billion. That claim was incorrect, the embassy said.

PREMIUM TIMES relied on the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, for the story. The paper has since updated its initial content.

In a transcript of Monday’s press conference released by the U.S. embassy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield had said the U.S. government was working with Nigeria and other African countries to address their concerns about Boko Haram.

“And with the new government, we are having discussions with them on how we might bolster our support,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield had said in a response to a question by a journalist from The Punch newspaper.

“That said, we have already been working with them on providing information, providing some training and support, and we look to, with this new administration, to see how we might increase the level of support that we are providing to Nigeria.

“At the same time, we have just announced since I have been here at the AU, a US$5 million contribution to the Multinational Task Force. This is funding going to the AU.

“We are also providing some equipment and support, and we had a number of meetings with the countries who are members of the Multinational Task Force to look at other areas that we might support.”