The United States may cut aids to Nigeria for voting against Donald Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Prior to the emergency convergence of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Trump had threatened that the U.S will cut aid to countries that vote against America’s stance.
“All of these nations that take our money and then they vote against us at the Security Council or they vote against us, potentially, at the Assembly, they take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us,” Trump had said.
“Well, we’re watching those votes,” he added. “Let them vote against us; we’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” he said.
Nigeria had joined 127 countries that voted against America’s position on Jerusalem on Thursday.
The countries, at the General Assembly, voted overwhelmingly by a record vote of 128 against Trump’s declaration, while nine were in support of the US President.
The General Assembly consequently declared Trump’s alteration of Jerusalem’s character as “null and void”.
US aids which run into billions of US dollars to Nigeria include helping in the eradication of malaria through the sale of insecticide-treated nets and treatments kits, therapies and intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women, especially in the vulnerable co-infected HIV/AIDS population and bolstering basic education, including Islamic schools.
Others are helping in entrenching democratically elected and good governance, ensuring peace and security by supporting the peacekeeping and simulation centers at the Armed Forces Staff College, working with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Finance Ministry, National Planning Commission to enhance economic growth, assisting in the search for the kidnapped Chibok school girls as well as giving military assistance in the fight against Boko Haram.
