Nigeria’s growing security partnership with the United States is coming under a parallel test of governance and financial transparency, as high-level talks opened in Washington, D.C., even as the U.S. government accused Abuja of falling short in making its public finances sufficiently open to citizens.
The development places two increasingly important issues at the centre of Nigeria-U.S. relations—how the two countries confront terrorism and other security threats, and how Nigeria accounts for the public resources deployed in that fight.
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, led the Nigerian delegation to the latest meeting of the Nigeria-U.S. Joint Working Group, while U.S. Under-Secretary of State Allison Hooker headed the American team.
The Nigerian delegation also includes Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Defence Minister Christopher Musa and Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Counterterrorism, bilateral security cooperation and the next