Ribadu Leads Abuja Team to Washington as US Demands Budget Openness

Nigeria’s growing security partnership with the United States is facing a parallel test over governance and financial transparency, as high-level talks began in Washington, D.

C. , while 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 both countries tackle terrorism and other security threats, and how Nigeria accounts for public resources deployed in the 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.
The talks are expected to focus on counterterrorism, bilateral security cooperation and other areas of mutual interest, even as concerns over Nigeria’s fiscal openness add another dimension to the discussions.