U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

33–670PDF WASHINGTON : 2018

NIGERIA AT A CROSSROADS: THE UPCOMING

ELECTIONS

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, 

GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND 

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Serial No. 115–174

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,

or http://http://www.govinfo.gov 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR., New York 

F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., 

Wisconsin 

ANN WAGNER, Missouri 

BRIAN J. MAST, Florida 

FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida 

BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania 

THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia 

JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah 

VACANT 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

AMI BERA, California 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

NORMA J. TORRES, California 

BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York 

ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York 

TED LIEU, California

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR., New York 

F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., 

Wisconsin 

THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia 

KAREN BASS, California 

AMI BERA, California 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York 

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C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African 

Affairs, U.S. Department of State ...................................................................... 4

Mr. Ramsey Day, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa, 

U.S. Agency for International Development ...................................................... 13

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr.: Prepared statement ....................................... 7

Mr. Ramsey Day: Prepared statement ................................................................... 15

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 34

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 35

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New Jersey, and chairman, Subcommittee on Africa, Global 

Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations: Material 

submitted for the record ...................................................................................... 36

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NIGERIA AT A CROSSROADS: THE UPCOMING 

ELECTIONS 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m., in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH. The subcommittee will come to order. And good afternoon to everyone. 

Let me, first of all, thank our very distinguished witnesses, Ambassador Nagy and Ramsey Day, for doing double duty 2 days 

straight. You were there yesterday doing what I thought was a tremendous job on the whole of Africa and today with a very specific 

focus on Nigeria. So thank you, above all, for your leadership but 

also for spending a considerable amount of time with the full committee and now the subcommittee. So thank you. 

The reason why we have called you back is to focus on Nigeria, 

obviously. And let me say how we do believe that the upcoming 

election is an inflection point. February 19th could be a great day, 

and we are hoping that it will be, but there are still some unanswered questions, and perhaps you could provide some insights to 

those questions. 

Nigeria is so large and robust that, as the saying goes, as Nigeria 

goes, so goes Africa. Having been there so many times, I believe 

that is true. They are wonderful, wonderful people. There is a great 

deal of faith there, both Muslim and Christian. But there are also 

some problems brought by a minority number of people that continues to plague the large masses of people who suffer from those 

problems. 

Its economic and political leadership in sub-Saharan Africa, like 

I said, is extremely important. A stable and prosperous Nigeria 

contributes to stable and prosperous neighbors. Conversely, an unstable Nigeria wracked by poverty and violence does not contribute 

to the well-being of its own citizens nor of its neighbors but could 

lead to a destabilization. 

Nigeria today is clearly at a crossroads. We are seeing continuing 

violence along ethnic and religious lines, exacerbated by economic, 

social, and political tensions coinciding with this upcoming major 

election. The incumbent, President Buhari, is seeking a second conVerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:06 Dec 19, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_AGH\121318\33670 SHIRL
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secutive term, but, in a way, it is his third overall if you count the 

fact that he served as head of state from 1983 to 1985 following 

a military coup which installed him. 

President Buhari won election in 2015 in part because he promised to end Nigeria’s endemic corruption and defeat the terror 

group Boko Haram. Since then, however, he has, frankly, disappointed. Boko Haram has been somewhat contained, and it still 

remains a threat, though, in terms of actual violence, the total 

deaths attributable to Boko Haram now is surpassed by clashes instigated in large part by well-armed Fulani extremists, which is 

often labeled the herder-farmer violence. 

In the first half of 2018, per the International Crisis Group, over 

1,300 Nigerians have been killed in this conflict in Nigeria’s Middle 

Belt. It is a horrible loss of life. Though the greatest number of victims in this particular conflict are Christian farmers, other groups 

in the country have suffered, including Nigeria’s Shia Muslims in 

the state of Kaduna, who were targeted by government forces in 

2015 in what is known as the Zaria massacre. 

Igbo, who predominantly come from the south and who still remember the brutal war for Biafran independence nearly half a century ago, are also feeling alienation, particularly after a call in 

2017 by a radical group for Igbo to be cleansed from northern Nigeria and forced to return to their traditional homeland in the south. 

I think many others are very concerned about the apparent inability, perhaps even reluctance, of the Nigerian Federal Government under President Buhari to stop the violence or even, at times, 

to unequivocally condemn the attacks. This concern is exacerbated 

by the fact that, in any election, politicians seek to maximize the 

support of their base, and, in this particular case, it is President 

Buhari’s ethnic and religious base which is contributing to much of 

the tension. 

Thus, it is critically important that political leaders such as 

President Buhari, religious leaders such as the Sultan of Sokoto, 

and institutions such as the cattlemen’s association, Miyetti Allah, 

all of whom have influence among the Fulani, unequivocally condemn the attacks and use their power and influence to promote 

peace and reconciliation. 

In that regard, there have been a number of proposals aimed at 

promoting peace, which should be commended. As president of the 

Senate, Dr. Saraki, who is in the audience today—and welcome; 

thank you for being here—is himself a Muslim leader who sought 

to create the Religious Equity Commission, which aims at promoting peace among different religious groups. 

On one of my trips I made to Nigeria, I met with Archbishop 

Kaigama, the archbishop of Jos, which was the center of much of 

the conflict and where many of the churches were firebombed. We 

met with survivors from those churches. Archbishop Kaigama 

worked closely with the imam who was his counterpart in humanitarian and peace-building projects. And I can tell you, the respect 

and admiration for each other was actually awe-inspiring. They 

both said nothing but superlatives and how they wanted to work 

together for peace in the Jos area. 

Thus, there are a number of hopeful initiatives in Nigeria which 

can be built upon. And I am looking forward to hearing from our 

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two very distinguished witnesses today about what our Government is doing to promote peace and stability in Nigeria and what 

we are doing to help ensure a free and fair election followed by, depending on the outcome, a peaceful transition of power. 

And let me also say how we are all looking forward to insights 

you could provide to this subcommittee fresh on the heels of the 

framework that was announced this morning, which I hope you will 

spend some time conveying your impressions of it and where it will 

lead in terms of U.S. policy vis-a-vis the subcontinent. 

I would like to now yield to my good friend and colleague, Karen 

Bass. 

Ms. BASS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this critical and once 

again timely hearing. 

And I want to thank our witnesses. Long time no see. You are 

here for a second day, and we definitely appreciate you taking the 

time to be here again. You know that your presence here is important because it does send a message that the United States remains committed to engaging across the African continent. 

We all know that Africa is a region of strategic importance and 

diplomatic relevance. The U.S.-Nigeria relationship is one of the 

most important in Africa, given Nigeria’s size and political and economic role in the region. 

Nigeria will hold Presidential elections on February 16th and gubernatorial and legislative elections just a few weeks later. These 

elections are highly anticipated and also expected to be highly contested. This has led some analysts to argue that the elections could 

lead to fragmentation of the party, defections to other parties, or 

even violence. 

While concerns of violence have grown, positive signs have 

emerged. Just yesterday, 70—70, wow—Presidential candidates, including the main opposition candidate, pledged to hold a peaceful 

vote. While this hearing is focused on the election, it would be useful for you to provide us an update on broader issues affecting the 

country, such as security concerns, including the ongoing conflict 

with Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants. 

Nigerian security forces have been accused of serious human 

rights abuses. The State Department’s 2017 human rights report 

documents allegations by multiple sources of extrajudicial and arbitrary killings as well as torture, periodically, in detention facilities, 

including sexual exploitation and abuse, use of children by some security elements, looting and destruction of property. I am very interested in knowing how we are holding them accountable. 

On the economic front, I would be curious to know if Nigeria has 

diversified its AGOA exports beyond petroleum. Given that Nigeria 

is one of Africa’s largest consumer markets, are we doing anything 

to help facilitate opportunities for American business? 

Returning to the topic of this hearing, some may recall that the 

2015 elections were also very competitive and were viewed as a 

critical test for the country’s leaders, security forces, and people. 

They were widely held as historic and as demonstrating Nigeria’s 

commitment to democratic principles. My hope is that the country 

will have another peaceful election so that they can continue to address the economic and security challenges facing the country. 

Thank you, and I yield back. 

4

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Ms. Bass. 

Let me introduce, first, the Honorable Tibor Nagy, Jr., the Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. 

Ambassador Nagy has served over 30 years, 20 of which were 

spent in Africa as the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, the United 

States Ambassador to Guinea, and was Deputy Chief of Mission in 

Nigeria, Cameroon, and Togo. Ambassador Nagy has also won 

awards for his management of the United States Embassy in 

Lagos, Nigeria, during political and economic crises. 

Following his retirement from the Foreign Service, Ambassador 

Nagy served as vice provost for international affairs at Texas Tech 

University, where he lectured on Africa, foreign policy, international development, and U.S. diplomacy. 

Ambassador Nagy arrived in the U.S. as a political refugee from 

Hungary. He received his B.A. from Texas Tech University and 

MSA from George Washington University. He has been married to 

his wife for 47 years, and the couple has three adult children—the 

first triplets born in independent Zimbabwe. 

We welcome you back again. I am not sure what you are doing 

tomorrow, but perhaps you want to come back again tomorrow as 

well. 

We will then hear from Mr. Ramsey Day, who serves as Deputy 

Assistant Administrator for the Africa Bureau at USAID. 

Prior to joining USAID in January 2018, Mr. Day was the senior 

director for the Center for Global Impact at the International Republican Institute. Mr. Day has held numerous positions within the 

international development and foreign policy communities, both in 

the U.S. and various overseas posts. 

He served as country representative for USAID in Montenegro 

and at the USAID headquarters in Washington, DC, within the 

Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau and as Chief of Public Liaison, where he led the Agency’s public outreach efforts. He was also 

Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for USAID Europe in the Eurasia 

Bureau, advising the Assistant Administrator and other officials on 

development policy, communications, and legislative issues. 

Mr. Day holds a B.A. from the University of Mississippi and a 

master’s in public administration focusing on international global 

affairs from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

Thank you both for being here. 

And, Ambassador Nagy, the floor is yours. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TIBOR P. NAGY, JR., ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Ambassador NAGY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With your permission, I have submitted a longer version of my remarks for the 

record, and I will read the abbreviated version. 

Mr. SMITH. Without objection. 

Ambassador NAGY. Thank you very much, sir. 

Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the upcoming elections in Nigeria. I 

am also pleased to be joined by my USAID colleague Ramsey Day. 

5

The Department of State views Nigeria’s February 2019 national 

elections as a critical test which could have significant consequences for the democratic trajectory of not only Nigeria but the 

entire continent. 

The 2015 elections, although by no means perfect, was a step forward, resulting in Nigeria’s first-ever democratic transfer of power 

to a nonincumbent party. 

In advance of the 2019 elections, the United States does not support any candidate, only a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful 

democratic process that reflects the will of the Nigerian people. 

Through diplomacy, robust public engagement with youth and 

civil society, and democracy and governance programs, we are helping Nigeria strengthen its democratic institutions and processes. 

The U.S. Government has developed a strategy with three main 

objectives: One, support of free and fair electoral process, including 

technical assistance to Nigeria’s election institutions, civil society, 

and political parties, as well as U.S. Government monitoring of the 

election around the country. 

Two, prevent and mitigate electoral violence, including conflict 

monitoring, peace-building programs, and peace messaging. 

And, three, support civil and political engagement, including Nigerian election observings and vote tabulation, social media campaigns to engage youth, get-out-the-vote campaigns, voter education, and efforts to counter disinformation. 

To advance our strategy, we have high-level diplomatic engagement from Washington as well as officials based in Nigeria. Earlier 

this year, President Trump welcomed President Buhari to the 

White House and conveyed our expectations for a credible election. 

And two Secretaries of State, USAID Administrator Green, and 

many others have traveled to Nigeria or met with senior Nigerian 

officials to underscore our commitment as well. 

The State Department also hosted the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, chairman in late October to 

observe U.S. preparation for midterm elections and discussed challenges surrounding Nigeria’s elections. During this visit, INEC 

Chairman Yakubu observed early voting in Maryland and met with 

congressional staff, U.S. electoral experts, and U.S. Government officials, to include USAID Administrator Green and Under Secretary for Political Affairs Hale. 

I recently returned from Nigeria as part of my first trip back to 

the continent, and it was great to be back where I served as 

Charge d’Affaires in 2016 and Deputy Chief of Mission from 1993 

to 1995 and convey our expectations and concerns for the elections 

in person. I met with leadership from the two main political parties, INEC Chairman Yakubu, civil society organizations, delivering public messages on the elections with key stakeholders. 

That is just a summary of our Washington-focused diplomatic engagement on these elections. Our Ambassador and the mission in 

Nigeria are working to advance our goals every day. 

My colleague from USAID will tell you more about USAID programs in support of our three objectives. 

And I assure you, the U.S. Government will remain intensely focused on the Nigerian elections in the coming months. I know 

6

many of you are watching the elections closely, and we share many 

of your concerns. 

We are monitoring and messaging to mitigate a few areas of risk 

that could jeopardize a fair process. Examples include: Potential attacks on the legitimacy of INEC and the electoral process for political gain; intimidation by security forces; attacks on election institutions or violence toward voters, observers, or electoral officials; 

an inability of internally displaced persons or persons with disabilities to vote; voter suppression; armed gangs for voter intimidation 

and other drivers of electoral violence; and widespread vote buying. 

On November 18, the start of official campaigning, our mission 

in Abuja released a statement with 25 like-minded missions to express our desire to see free, fair, transparent, peaceful elections. 

We will be watching closely for instigators of violence or those attempting to undermine the democratic process. 

I can tell you from my experience that I fear there will be some 

violence, as has been the case with previous elections. But I only 

anticipate localized violence, not nationwide conflict. 

We are already seeing increased tension as the election approaches, as politicians turn to identity politics to improve their 

popularity, with potentially serious consequences for national 

unity. Nigeria has weathered such tensions before, but the U.S. 

Government takes the risk of any loss of life extremely seriously. 

While in Nigeria, I asked officials from both major parties to sign 

pledges that their candidates would conduct peaceful campaigns, 

and both major candidates have now signed such a peace pledge. 

In assessing potential hotspots for violence, we look at places 

that are historically volatile around elections, such as Rivers and 

Borno states. We look at states that are currently tense, especially 

if state-level politics are contentious, like those in Benue, Plateau, 

as well as those in high-stakes locations with large populations, 

such as Kano. We regularly engage with civil society organizations 

in these hotspots and support their peace-building efforts. 

USAID programs and our public diplomacy campaigns also support peace campaigns across the country, such as #VoteNotFight. 

Through our YALI network Nigeria campaign, Nigerians made over 

10,000 pledges to boost voter participation, reject violence, and vote 

with integrity. 

As I said in a speech in Nigeria, only the Nigerian people can 

determine lasting solutions and a path forward toward peace and 

stability. 2019 indeed will be a significant year for Nigeria. It will 

be 20 years since the country returned to democratic rule. And this 

election’s youngest voters have never known a Nigeria without democracy. The upcoming elections provide Nigerians an opportunity 

to shape their country and solidify its place as a democratic leader 

in Africa. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Ambassador Nagy follows:]

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33669a-1.eps

Statement of Assistant Secretary Tibor Nagy 

Bureau of African Affairs, lJ.S. Department of State 

House Foreign Affairs Committee 

"Development, Diplomacy, and Defense: Promoting U.S. Interests in Africa" 

Wednesday, December 12, 2018 

Thank you Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and 

Members of the Committee for the opportunity to testify today on U.S. 

policy toward Africa, and to my colleague and friend Ramsey Day of 

USAID here with me today. I also want to express my gratitude to 

Chairman Royce and other members for your longstanding interest in 

Africa. 

Today's hearing comes at an opportune time. We are at a critical 

juncture for the relationship between the United States and the nations 

and people of Africa. Africa faces an uncertain and challenging, but by 

no means predetermined, future. The choices we make now will atiect 

not only our relationship with the continent, but will have ramifications 

worldwide. 
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Africa is facing a demographic tsunami. Its population will double 

by 2050 to around 2.5 billion people, 50 percent of whom will be under 

the age of 24. Challenges with infrastructure, corruption and terrorism 

continue, and China is asserting itself on the continent economically, 

militarily, and politically. We must remain a positive alternative, and 

make clear that engaging with the United States will mean greater 

prosperity and security for Africa. 

I am very fortunate to be in my current position. Virtually my 

entire career centered on Africa, much of it living there in eight different 

countries. Since my first diplomatic assignment forty years ago, Africa 

has changed dramatically. 

T recently concluded two trips to the continent, in West Africa and 

East Africa, where I also addressed the African Union. Let me assure 

you of this: Our potential with Africa is limitless! With every challenge 

there is opportunity, and we must capitalize on our successes. 

Here I would like to articulate some of the focus areas of the 

Bureau of African Afiairs. 

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33669a-3.eps

First, we are promoting stronger trade and commercial ties 

between the United States and Africa, working with our African partners 

to build a level playing field across the continent's markets. African 

governments need to increase transparency and fairness in their 

commercial environments to attract more business, and have predictable 

policies, laws conforming to international standards, and a credible 

dispute resolution process. 

Second, more than 60 percent of sub-Saharan Africa, 600 million 

people, is below the age of 25, representing 40 percent of sub-Saharan 

Africa's unemployed. We are working to match American investment 

and ingenuity with the dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit of young 

Africans; anchoring them to their countries, and keeping them from 

resorting to migration, militancy, or crime. 

A third area is working to advance peace and security through 

partnerships with African governments and effective regional 

mechanisms. 

Finally, we are focused on countering the Chinese narrative and 

setting the record straight. The United States has a longstanding 
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33669a-4.eps

commitment to Africa, as a partner positively supporting economic 

growth, good governance, rule oflaw, enhanced gender equality, and 

health ofthe African people. 

Let me begin with the promotion of stronger trade and investment 

ties. Everywhere I speak to an African audience, I emphasize we seek to 

do business not just in Africa, but with Africa. 

Our promotion of free trade agreements with the United States 

communicates to Africans that transparency, fairness, and good 

governance attract U.S. investment, and we hope to negotiate a first-ever 

Free Trade Agreement with a Sub-Saharan African country. 

Trade has greatly expanded. Under the African Growth and 

Opportunity Act, or AGOA, from 2000 to 2016 U.S. investment in subSaharan Africa increased from seven to 29 billion dollars, providing 

opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Africans. Since 2000, U.S. 

exports to Africa rose from six to more than 14 billion dollars last year, 

and U.S. imports from Africa totaled nearly 25 billion dollars, a total 

two-way trade of 39 billion dollars in 2017, up 5.8 percent from 2015. 

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The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation provides assistance to 

the world's poorest countries who demonstrate commitment to good 

governance, economic freedom, and investing in their citizens. This 

week, I attended a ceremony with Secretary Pompeo where MCC and 

the Government of Senegal signed a 550 million dollar compact that will 

modernize Senegal's power sector to increase economic growth and 

reduce poverty through improved access to electricity. 

The BUILD Act, which President Trump signed into law in 

October with strong bipartisan support, will establish the U.S. 

International Development Finance Corporation. This new law 

consolidates, modernizes and reforms the U.S. government's 

"development finance" capabilities. Africa is the largest regional 

exposure totaling more than six billion dollars and the BUILD Act will 

help mobilize additional private sector investment. 

With our second focus, we go beyond investing in Africa, to 

investing in Africans. 

Through the Young African Leaders Initiative, or Y ALI, we equip 

the next generation of Africans with leadership and entrepreneurship 

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33669a-6.eps

skills. The YALI Network, a virtual community of more than a half 

million members, helps young Africans develop skills and connections 

needed to make change in their communities. 

Our third focus, promoting peace and security, is essential to 

secure Africa's opportunities and prosperity. We support African-led 

efforts against terrorism and other transnational threats. U.S. assistance 

has brought some success in the Lake Chad region, Somalia and 

elsewhere, and we seek burden-sharing opportunities with non-African 

actors as well. 

We have provided training to peacekeepers from more than 20 

African countries, with substantial impact. Ten years ago, Africans 

comprised only 40 percent of the continent's peacekeepers. Now that 

figure has exceeded 60 percent. U.S.-funded programming is vital to 

these forces, as it is to the G5 Sahel Joint Force and African-driven 

etiorts in the Lake Chad region to counter terrorism in West Africa. 

Our African partners are working to ensure stability and defeat 

terrorist organizations in East Africa as well. The AMISOM mission 

composed of regional states is helping Somalia become more stable and 

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Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. 

Mr. Day? 

STATEMENT OF MR. RAMSEY DAY, SENIOR DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR AFRICA, U.S. AGENCY 

FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Mr. DAY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, and distinguished 

members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the upcoming elections in Nigeria. 

I also want to thank my State Department colleague and friend, 

Assistant Secretary Tibor Nagy, for his excellent description of our 

concerns and challenges in supporting Nigeria’s electoral process. 

USAID is deeply committed to supporting free, fair, transparent, 

and peaceful elections in Nigeria. We know that Nigeria’s success 

in achieving sustained, broad-based advancements in economic and 

social development for its people can only be achieved if good governance is a daily reality for all Nigerians. 

Since the 2015 election, our support has provided continuity in 

assisting stakeholders with gubernatorial off-cycle elections and in 

the lead-up preparations to the 2019 general elections. Our programmatic efforts have been in partnership with the U.K.’s Department for International Development, or DFID, in addition to regular coordination with civil society groups as well as multilateral 

and bilateral donors. 

USAID’s programs align with the three objectives that Assistant 

Secretary Nagy has laid out, that the election be credible, peaceful, 

and inclusive. 

First, we assist Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, to institutionalize key reforms that ensure a 

more credible and accountable electoral process. USAID continues 

to work with its partners to support INEC through training both 

resident electoral commissioners on alternative dispute resolution 

mechanisms and judges who will adjudicate any suits brought after 

the elections. 

Second, as Assistant Secretary Nagy has also indicated, we don’t 

expect large-scale nationwide violence, though history does tell us 

there will likely be some localized conflict, particularly in areas 

that are already suffering from chronic instability. We continue to 

work with local organizations, international development partners, 

and, of course, our Nigerian counterparts to encourage peaceful 

participation and tolerance. 

And to mitigate the risk of violence, USAID has included violence 

prevention efforts into all of our programs nationwide. One example, of course, is the Vote Not Fight campaign, already referenced, 

whose peace ambassador is a leading Nigerian performance artist. 

Another campaign is the Stop Violence Against Women in Elections, which works with local civil society organizations. 

In addition, USAID supports INEC by engaging civil society organization in each geopolitical zone to do live conflict mapping. And 

we will share this information with INEC. 

Third, USAID programs strengthen Nigerian civil society’s capacity to monitor the elections. Local partners are preparing to field 

over 3,000 domestic observers for the 2019 electoral process. These 

14

observers are trained in conducting parallel vote tabulations, or 

PVTs, using a systematic methodology that independently measures official voting results. When PVTs confirm official election results, they can increase confidence in the electoral process. 

Our programs also work with Nigerian major political parties to 

become more representative and responsive to their citizens and to 

increase their oversight of government programs. 

USAID is also funding an international election observation mission to provide impartial observation of the electoral process, enhance the credibility of the elections, and to support the peaceful 

transition of power. In addition, this mission will highlight the 

need for inclusivity so that women, youth, persons with disabilities, 

internally displaced persons, and other marginalized groups have 

full access to participate in the electoral process. 

And as you have heard me say, USAID’s goal is to end the need 

for foreign assistance. Administrator Green has emphasized that it 

is our core belief that each country must lead its own development 

journey. And we are focused on ending the need for foreign assistance not because we wish to retreat from our friends but because 

but we believe in them. 

USAID is committed to encouraging peaceful elections. The 2015 

election was historic, as it marked for the first time in Nigeria’s 

history that there was a peaceful transition of power to a nonincumbent party, an illustration of the country’s commitment to democracy. Our interest is and always will be in the integrity of the 

electoral process and that it accurately reflects the will of the Nigerian people. 

So thank you, and I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Day follows:]

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33669b-1.eps

Statement of Ramsey Day 

Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator 

Bureau for Africa 

United States Agency for International Development 

Before the 

House Foreign Affairs Committee 

on 

DECEMBER 12, 2018 

Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, members of the Committee, I am grateful for the opportunity 

to testify before you today as the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Athca at the 

United States Agency for International Development (USAID). I would like to extend a special thank 

you to this Committee and your collea;;ues in Congress, whose long-time bipartisan commitment to the 

peoples of the African continent has provided the foundation for USAID programs and the springboard 

for their success. Whether meeting with you here in Washington or at USAID missions overseas, 

USAID staff always value the opportunity to discuss the Agency's work and demonstrate how our 

investments there are making a difference in people's lives. 

Some Americans see only Africa's seemingly intractable problems, but I truly believe that Africa's 

future is bright. The investments and commitment of the American people to the people of Africa are 

paying off, and USAID has set its priorities to capitalize on the region's emerging opportunities. Under 

Administrator Green's leadership, US AID is focusing its resources, policy tools, and engagement in 

places where the conditions are right to establish and sustain progress. 

U.S. assistance in Africa saves lives; spurs trade and investment; and advances peace and security. 

Take the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for example. This program is a 

powertul expression of the compassion and generosity of the American people. In 20 16, a PEPF AR 

assessment showed the first evidence of the epidemic becoming controlled in three key African 

countries: Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These same countries have also reduced new HIV infections 

by as much as 76 percent since the start of PEPF AR. With continued aggressive focus, analysis, and 

partner alignment, the U.S. Government is poised to help control the HIV epidemic in 10 African 

countries over the next four years. PEPF AR has provided 12.8 million men, women and children in subSaharan Africa with antiretroviral medicine, meaning they can now live long, healthy lives with HIV. 

We are also seeing progress on The U.S. President's Malaria Initiative. In fact, this past January, during 

the 30th African Union Summit, Madagascar, The Gambia, Senegal and Zimbabwe were honored for 

reducing malaria cases by more than 20 percent from 2015 to 2016. PEPFAR and the U.S. President's 

Malaria Initiative together have significantly improved the health status of Africans, especially children. 

Under-five mortality rates in Africa dropped 50 percent between 2000 and 2015. 
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We work through PEPFAR and with all of our partners in the fight against these devastating diseases to 

empower communities and countries to gradually assume ownership of their own health care challenges. 

That means incentivizing reforms, strengthening in-country capacity. We are helping prepare a 

generation to claim their rightful leadership roles, propelling them on their journey to self-reliance 

USAID' s generosity extends beyond development. The United States is also the world's leading 

humanitarian donor. USAID is providing humanitarian assistance across the continent, including in 

Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somalia, where conflict and instability are fueling food insecurity and 

displacement. USAID disaster response experts have been deployed to the Democratic Republic of the 

Congo to help respond to the current Ebola crisis there and we continue to support Ebola preparedness 

etforts in neighboring countries. And even as USAID mobilizes the best of American generosity to feed 

hungry people and provide lifesaving aid, we also work to prepare vulnerable populations against future 

shocks and equip countries with the tools they will need to feed themselves. 

In a country like South Sudan, which has been embroiled in conflict for the past 5 years, I saw firsthand 

that USAID assistance is literally saving the lives of women, men, and children, providing clean water, 

basic health care, and emergency food to people across the country. I visited South Sudan this past May 

and was incredibly inspired by what USATD is doing to assist the people and uplift the country. From 

life-saving food and nutrition assistance for infants on the brink of starvation, to a youth center where 

young people learn computer skills and access the Internet, television and radio, to a traditional 

authorities court that helps resolve disputes and break cycles of violence, USAID is making an impact. 

USA TD also looks to the opportunities presented by trade and international investments- they are 

among the fastest ways for Africa to boost its economic growth, which is in the interest of the U.S. We 

advance enterprise-driven solutions to unlock the continent's growing markets. We work closely with 

the private sector to identify and resolve the binding constraints to investment. We believe that by 

leveling the playing field for free, fair, transparent investment, African nations can increasingly tap the 

trillions of dollars in private-sector resources needed to advance the continent's development and 

ultimately eliminate the need for unsustainable foreign-backed loans. 

One area where we are using a market approach-- or private sector engagement-- is the power sector, 

an area where we greatly appreciate Chairman Royce's leadership with the enactment of the Electrify 

Africa Act. Nearly two out of three people in sub-Saharan Atiica do not have access to electricity, which 

limits access to quality health care, education, and economic opportunities for more than 600 million 

people. 

Power Africa, a whole-of-government effort with the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and others, 

but led by USAID, employs a partnership approach to engage U.S. Government agencies, international 

donors and finance institutions, host-country counterparts, and the private sector, to level the playing 

field and encourage investments in electricity infrastructure. 

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Power Atiica, along with more than 160 public- and private-sector partners, about half of which are US 

companies, seeks to add 30,000 megawatts and 60 million connections of electricity in sub-Saharan 

Africa by 2030. Partnering in this way has leveraged billions of dollars in additional financing critical 

for development of the sector. 

To date, Power Africa has helped 119 projects, comprising over 9,500 megawatts, reach financial close. 

Power Africa has helped add 12.5 million new electrical connections, which means more than 57 million 

people have access to electricity who did not have access prior to the initiative's launch. 

Additionally, through Power Atiica's investment in Beyond the Grid, USATD is helping to accelerate 

off-grid electricity access, focusing on two strategic priorities- household solar and micro-grids- to add 

25-30 million new connections by 2030, in support of achieving Power Atiica's overall goal. 

Another facet of our work seeks to enhance the ability of African businesses to supply the US. market. 

In Madagascar, where 80 percent of the world's vanilla is sourced, USAID partnered with Baltimorebased McCormick and Company and the National Cooperative Business Association to counter the 

corruption degrading the quality of vanilla exports. The result is better wages for fanners in Madagascar 

and direct access to high-quality products for American businesses. 

In addition, USAID's Trade and Investment Hubs in East, West, and Southern Africa help to transform 

African economies and deepen the U.S -Africa trade and investment relationship. They work on the 

ground to reduce regional trade barriers, deepen regional economic integration and promote trade and 

investment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, legislation that this committee championed. 

The Trade and Investment Hubs have directly leveraged $1.3 billion in African exports under AGOA. 

The Trade and Investment Hubs attract investment and leverage private-sector partnerships with 

businesses ranging from micro-enterprises to multinational corporations. 

Since 2010, the Trade and Investment Hubs have created 46,000 African jobs. Many of these jobs are 

held by women who tend to invest job-related income into their families and communities. The Trade 

and Investment Hubs have also assisted 2,300 private enterprises and non-governmental organizations 

working on food security. 

Across sub-Saharan Africa, growth in agriculture has been associated with reductions in extreme 

poverty. The Global Food Security Act continues to demonstrate the U.S.'s commitment to ending 

global poverty, hunger, and malnutrition Thanks to your strong support, the Feed the Future initiative 

has made an incredible impact. 

In countries like Ethiopia and Ghana, Feed the Future investments have improved agricultural 

productivity, boosted harvests, and connected farmers to markets. For example, in Ethiopia, poverty 

dropped by more than 12 percent in Feed the Future target regions between 2013 and 2015. 

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Our work in Feed the Future focus countries in Africa reduced child stunting by an average of32 

percent between 2012 and 2017 in the regions where we work. Stunting occurs when a child is subjected 

to chronic malnutrition early in their lives. By reducing stunting, children's growth is not limited by 

impaired brain development, lower TQ, weakened immune systems, and greater risk of serious diseases 

Feed the Future is helping governments in our partner countries create better policies and systems for 

food security and to ultimately help them move away from vulnerability to self-reliance. ln Africa, Feed 

the Future partner countries have increased their domestic investments in agriculture by 25 percent, a 

rate four times that of African countries as a whole and representing an additional $719 million per year. 

And it's not just a handful of individual countries that are seeing the positive impact USG assistance 

brings. United States assistance has had a transformative impact across sub-Saharan Africa. Between 

2000 and 2015, the percentage of Africans living in extreme poverty declined from 57 to 41 percent. 

However, we cannot talk about a successful economic future for Atiican countries without addressing 

peace and security. USATD works with our Atiican partners to address the underlying factors that allow 

transnational organized crime, violent extremism, and intemal conflict to flourish. Central to these 

etforts is citizen-responsive democratic govemance. According to the latest survey of African citizens, 

democracy is the preferred form of government. A 2016 study by USATD shows that there has been an 

unprecedented wave of social and political protest across Africa, with citizens voicing their demands for 

services, accountability, and citizen-responsive democratic governance. While we have witnessed recent 

declines in political rights and civil liberties in some countries, the long term trend points to the fact that 

more than half of all Africans today live in functioning democracies that are demonstrably freer than the 

regimes that previously dominated the continent. 

The United States helps advance democracy, human rights and good governance in Atiica by promoting 

the rule of law, respect for fundamental freedoms, credible and legitimate election processes, a 

politically active civil society, and accountable and participatory governments. Working in partnership 

with African governments and civil society in countries as diverse as Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, our 

support strengthens governance institutions and protects the democratic gains that have been made 

across the continent 1 believe that democracy, human rights, and governance underpins all other 

development programming, and this is a key priority for USAID. 

USAID is also combating the threat of wildlife trafficking in countries across sub-Saharan Africa. 

Wildlife trafficking is a major threat to biodiversity. The value of wildlife and wildlife products, and the 

minimal risk of punishment for poaching or illicit trade, have attracted the involvement of transnational 

criminal organizations lllicit wildlife is one of the largest black markets in the world, worth tens of 

billions of dollars. 

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Through more than 65 projects in 25 countries, US AID and its partners are making it more ditTtcult for 

people to poach, move and sell wildlife products across borders. This helps secure our natural resources 

and fight the criminal networks that threaten security and the rule of law, and undermine development 

progress. 

In southeast Angola, USA TO tunded comprehensive management plans for the newly created LuengueLuiana and Mavina National Parks. The plans will bring jobs to the 12,000 people in the area, and 

improve the management of more than 6.8 million hectares of important habitat-an area larger than 

West Virginia. 

Supporting and protecting these resources also protects local communities' ability to raise their own 

food, and make their own income- key elements of global prosperity and self-reliance. 

Our focus is on helping countries on their journey to self-reliance. USAID's goal is ending the need for 

foreign assistance. As Administrator Green has said, it's our core belief that each country must lead its 

own development journey. We are focused on ending the need for foreign assistance not because we 

wish to retreat from our friends, but because we believe in them. 

If a country is willing to take on the ditTtcultjourney to self-reliance, we want to walk alongside them on 

that journey. At USAID, we are looking towards the day when we transition to a new kind of 

relationship that moves beyond traditional assistance. An enduring relationship, in which countries 

move from recipients of aid to partners to fellow donors. 

We tailor our programs, and the partnerships we forge, to address each country's unique journey to selfreliance, and to build their capacity to manage their own development. 

Administrator Green has set a clear path forward for the Agency, and we are excited to advance his 

priorities. The dedicated staff in the Bureau for Africa gladly continues in USAID's tradition of 

supporting African partner countries on their development journey to progress beyond assistance. 

On a personal note, I am honored to be here, deeply committed to USAID's goals and the integrated role 

that it plays with the Department of State and the Department of Defense in advancing US. policy and 

national security objectives. 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I welcome any questions. 

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Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Day. 

Let me begin by asking—I know that, in July, the U.K. and 

USAID signed an agreement, an MOU, or added to the MOU, to 

increase the amount of money, I think it is $60 million over 6 years 

that we anticipate; $34 million since 2014. 

And I am wondering if you could maybe break out even further 

how that money is being used. You have given us, I think, a little 

taste of that, both of you. But, specifically, is it going into ballot 

security, ensuring that the integrity of the process is protected? 

And, secondly, let me ask you, if I could, about the clergy, Christian, and the Muslim imams and the other leaders. Are they being 

mobilized to send those same messages about, to prevent and mitigate electoral violence, the whole idea of vote and shun any kind 

of violent attacks? 

I mean, if there is a crescendo, I would think such words and actions by the two major faith groups of people there, it could have, 

I think, a very good, calming effect. And I know you have thought 

of that, so if you could speak to that. 

And the election monitors. How many people are we talking 

about? Are they coming from Europe? Are they coming from the 

EU? Are they coming from here too? You know, total deployment 

anticipation? Where will they go? Or is that to be decided as we 

get closer? 

I know, because I chaired the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, that election monitoring is critical to ensuring that ballots are counted right, that 

people don’t vote twice—all the problems that could plague an election. And then, when a verdict is given, if it is a positive one, based 

on the evidence, it further legitimizes the outcome. 

So if you could delve further into that election-observation side 

of it as well. 

Mr. DAY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

As you noted, we have a tremendous partnership with DFID, and 

all of our programs are, of course, in support of the three kind of 

objective areas that Assistant Secretary Nagy mentioned. 

Much of that is technical support to INEC. So we have, ultimately, three partners: The International Republican Institute, the 

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, as well as 

IFES, the International Federation for Electoral Support. So the 

technical support to INEC is through IFES. And then the International Republican Institute supports political party strengthening, encouraging responsive platforms to the citizens. 

And then we have a robust program with civil society organizations working on activities, everything from get-out-the-vote campaigns, to the PVTs, voter education. And then, of course, there are 

major issues about misinformation all throughout Nigeria, and so 

a lot of our civil society partners will work on many of those issues 

as well. 

In terms of the election observation mission, there are kind of 

three primary components to that. There is the local observers, the 

local monitors, which are generally Nigerian. And that is by far the 

largest component of this, roughly around 3,000 observers. And 

they will be in, I believe it is 775 or 774 polling stations all around 

the country. 

21

The international observers come from all around the world at 

the invitation of IRI and NDI. Generally, about 40 members will 

be in that delegation, and they will be distributed all around the 

country, roughly around 12 states. They are in consultation with 

INEC and amongst themselves to determine where they will actually be deployed, but we can get you information about where they 

ultimately are decided upon. I don’t believe those decisions have 

been made yet, but we can certainly check on that. 

And then we also have an Embassy observer commission from 

the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, where there will about 30 or 40 staffers that will also go out into the country as well. 

So it is a robust observation mission. And you are absolutely 

right, it is critical. 

Mr. SMITH. In terms of access to media, it is very often the case 

where there is a state-run media, but especially where opposition 

candidates can’t get their views out. Is that presenting any problems? It is not the day of election that matters only; it is everything that precedes it. 

Mr. DAY. You are absolutely correct. Our electoral support program has been going since the previous election. So it is important 

to know that these programs didn’t start just a couple of months 

ago; they have been going on for months. 

Now, some of the technical items will be coming together pretty 

soon. When we talk about the printing of manuals and the actual 

ballots that IFES is also advising INEC on, those, of course, come 

together in the last several months prior to the election. But the 

political party support, the civil society support has been going on 

for years. 

Mr. SMITH. There were reports in The Vanguard that the accounts of leading opposition candidate Governor Peter Obi have 

been frozen by the government. There have been reports by Premium Times that the top Presidential challenger’s sons’ apartment 

was raided in Abuja. 

Furthermore, we have received a report and a copy of a memo 

by a Nigerian Embassy targeting a Nigerian human rights lawyer 

for testifying before this committee. 

Is the U.S. concerned of repression against opponents by the Nigerian Government? And what are we doing to ensure that Nigeria 

does not violate the rights of citizens who have those contrary 

views? 

Ambassador NAGY. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we are absolutely concerned with those activities and those reports. 

And I would like to just make a general comment. When I went 

to Nigeria, one of the things I was specifically looking for was the 

activities of our Embassy, how engaged they were in this whole 

process, how closely they were following the elections. And I have 

to tell you, of all the Embassies I have seen during my career, I 

have never seen one as hyperactive and as actively involved in following these events day to day. 

Ambassador Symington deserves commendations for marshaling 

the resources for sending his officers everywhere in Nigeria, for 

maintaining an ongoing active engagement, especially with the 

Middle Belt violence, with dialogue on all side with the imams, 

22

with the pastors, with the various churches, with the groups, with 

the Nigerian Government. 

While I was there, as I mentioned, I was there just for a couple 

of days, but he set up sessions with me for the leaders of both political parties, for the electoral commission, and then with a whole 

group of civil society who would be following the elections. 

So, personally, I was so impressed that our mission is so engaged 

to pursue exactly these types of things. Wherever there are human 

rights violations, they will complain about it, they will take it to 

the people involved. 

While I was there, the Osun state run-off had gone on, which 

had not gone off very well because there are reports of security 

forces intimidating the voters. And we went to the Foreign Ministry. Ambassador Symington met that right on, talked about it. I 

just have to say that I have been impressed with the activity that 

that mission has displayed. 

Mr. SMITH. I appreciate that. 

And final question. The higher the visibility, I think, shown by 

other governments toward this election, the better. I am wondering 

if there is any—and maybe you mentioned it, Mr. Day, but—African Union top leaders who might be traveling, including observers 

on election day. And perhaps Secretary Pompeo could consider 

going to send a message that there be a free and fair, transparent, 

and violence-free election. 

Mr. DAY. Thank you. I have not seen the makeup of the international observation mission yet. I don’t know that the invitations 

have been sent out. But we can certainly check, and we will keep 

you posted. 

Ambassador NAGY. And, of course, Mr. Chairman, I don’t know 

the Secretary’s travel schedule, but I will be happy to pass that on. 

Mr. SMITH. Please do. I think it would send a very clear and a 

very positive message. 

Ambassador NAGY. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. SMITH. Ms. Bass? 

Ms. BASS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 

Nigeria’s election commission received generally positive reviews 

of its administration of the 2015 elections. Were there areas where 

further improvements in election administration were needed? And 

if so, have they been addressed? 

Several groups involved in monitoring the pre-election environment, including IRI and NDI, have identified challenges that could 

potentially undermine the credibility of upcoming elections, including delays in finalizing the legal framework for elections. President 

Buhari recently refused to sign into law revisions to the Electoral 

Act. How might that affect the upcoming election? 

Mr. DAY. Thank you, Congresswoman. 

In terms of kind of the progress that INEC has made, you know, 

as the Assistant Secretary mentioned, he and I have both met with 

Chairman Yabuku in the last several months. And I think our impressions—I certainly can’t speak for the Ambassador, but my own 

impressions were that there is significant capability there and 

there is significant political will, which I think is absolutely critical 

to the success of these elections and any elections. 

Ms. BASS. Uh-huh. 

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Mr. DAY. You know, there certainly are significant challenges. 

One of the items that I think we have been certainly encouraged 

at, in kind of watching INEC over the last several years, is that 

they have been responsive to recommendations. 

For example, there was an issue in 2015 that continues to be an 

issue in some of the gubernatorial issues that we saw in Ekiti and 

Osun about voter privacy. And we have made those recommendations known to INEC, and we have noticed that they are changing 

the configurations of some of the rooms. As well as they have 

banned cell phones in the voting booths, so you can’t take a picture 

and then go prove to others that you have voted in the proper way. 

Ms. BASS. Uh-huh. 

Mr. DAY. And so they have been responsive, and that is certainly 

an encouraging sign. 

That said, there are still tremendous both mechanistic challenges 

as well as administrative challenges and budgetary challenges as 

well. So still challenges remain, without question. 

Ms. BASS. You know, I wonder how you ban cell phones. Do you 

search people before they go—you know, so is it just something 

that they encourage people not to have cell phones? You don’t have 

to answer that. 

You mentioned a couple of the violence prevention programs, and 

I wanted to know if you can give a little more detail. Like, what 

is the Vote Not Fight and the Stop Violence Against Women campaign? Because I believe you said we are supporting the programs. 

I just wondered, what do the programs do? 

Mr. DAY. We can get you more details on the actual programmatic activities of those. So we will submit those to the 

record. 

Ms. BASS. So I also wanted to know how they are dealing with 

hate speech, and are there any groups monitoring hate speech during the campaign period? 

I think it is kind of important for us to look at the issue of hate 

speech in other countries, because we could probably learn from 

them, since hate speech is a problem before our elections too, especially considering before the midterm we had four acts of domestic 

terrorism right before our election. Maybe there is something that 

we could learn from our countries on hate speech. 

Ambassador NAGY. Yes, the Embassy considers hate speech a 

very important issue, and they are monitoring it actively and will 

challenge it where it comes up. 

Ms. BASS. What do they do? 

Ambassador NAGY. In addition to the—they do it with the radio. 

They do it with press reports. They also do it with the amount of—

we have a considerable number of local employees at the Embassy 

who follow events around the country. In addition to Embassy 

Abuja, of course, we have Consulate Lagos that also does that. And 

as with any other Embassy, we get a considerable amount of reporting from the larger community, from local organizations. 

Ms. BASS. So you are describing—will you respond to the hate 

speech? 

Ambassador NAGY. Absolutely. Absolutely. 

Ms. BASS. Okay. 

24

Ambassador NAGY. Publicly with media letters, with going to the 

Nigerian Government, with actually going to the local government. 

Ms. BASS. And the hate speech is not coming from the government though. 

Ambassador NAGY. No. 

Ms. BASS. That was a question. It is not. 

Ambassador NAGY. No. 

Ms. BASS. It is coming from the political parties? 

Ambassador NAGY. However, to be fair, I mean, we will see 

where it comes from, because in Nigerian elections sometimes it 

will come from local governments——

Ms. BASS. Uh-huh. 

Ambassador NAGY [continuing]. Not necessarily the national 

party structure, but from nefarious angles around the country. 

Ms. BASS. And so we denounce it? We make a——

Ambassador NAGY. Absolutely. 

Ms. BASS [continuing]. Statement denouncing it? 

Ambassador NAGY. Absolutely. 

Ms. BASS. Is that what they do as well? 

Ambassador NAGY. Absolutely they will denounce it. 

Ms. BASS. Maybe we could learn. This man went through an 

awful lot. 

I am speaking about your election. You had to deal with that. 

Ambassador NAGY. Representative Bass, may I also talk—you 

asked a question about the failure of the President to sign the new 

electoral law. 

Ms. BASS. Yes. 

Ambassador NAGY. The civil societies were very disappointed in 

that. The President mentioned that doing it this close to the elections might disrupt the elections. I am not giving that credibility 

or noncredibility; I am just telling you what he said. 

The good news is that the electoral commission has been acting 

as if the new law has actually come into effect. So our Embassy’s 

analysis is that not signing the law is not going to deleteriously affect the elections. So it will not have a negative effect on the election. It would have been nice if it had been signed. 

Ms. BASS. Right. Right. 

So what are your greatest concerns with respect to the upcoming 

elections? 

Ambassador NAGY. I believe that the greatest concern is violence, 

number one. Number two is the use of security forces for one side 

or the other. 

Ms. BASS. Uh-huh. 

Ambassador NAGY. Not allowing voters to express their desire. 

As I mentioned in the first——

Ms. BASS. But do you think, though, that the infrastructure for 

the election is okay? I understand what you are just describing, but 

in terms of it being a credible election, assuming that you don’t 

have that——

Ambassador NAGY. We believe the infrastructure is fine. It is the 

human actors; if there is going to be any problem, it is going to 

come from that side. 

I mean, I have followed Nigerian election since 1993. There are 

always some angles which are out of what we would consider the 

25

norm. The 2015 ones were considerably better than previous ones. 

Everybody is saying that, at a minimum, they would expect this 

round of elections to meet the standard set by 2015. 

Ms. BASS. Uh-huh. 

Ambassador NAGY. One of the considerations we need to think 

about is that in 2015 it was not as competitive as it is this year, 

because in 2015 there was the belief that there was such a negative reaction to President Jonathan that now President Buhari 

would win. 

This time, when I was there—and I talked to a large number of 

people—there is absolutely no certainty. As we have seen, there 

have been defections from one party to the other, back to the other 

party, back again. And I think we can expect that to continue going 

into the electoral period. 

Ms. BASS. So how would you describe that donors are coordinating their efforts to help Nigeria facilitate a free election? 

And I am wondering about our support as well. Do we have 

enough support to NED, National Endowment for Democracy, that 

then supports NDI and IRI? 

Mr. DAY. There is significant coordination at the grassroots level, 

of course, between the various partners of USAID and the National 

Endowment for Democracy. 

In terms of supports to them, this is the largest electoral support 

program that USAID has on the continent for 2018. So it is——

Ms. BASS. For 2019? 

Mr. DAY. For 2019. Excuse me. So this is a robust effort. And it 

has been going on—as I mentioned to the chairman, it has been 

going on for quite some time. So it is not just something that has 

just come up in the last few questions. 

Ms. BASS. How do you compare it to what we are doing in DRC, 

which we talked about yesterday? 

Mr. DAY. Depending on how you measure it, this is——

Ms. BASS. I mean, meaning our support. 

Mr. DAY. In terms of our support? Depending on how you measure it, whether it is the size of the observation mission, the number 

of local observers, et cetera, or funding levels, it is comparable, but 

I do believe that the Nigeria support program is larger. 

Ambassador NAGY. Because, Representative Bass, in Nigeria, we 

are talking about, I think, 85 million voters. 

Ms. BASS. Yeah. 

Ambassador NAGY. I mean, my gosh. 

Ms. BASS. I know. But I just think of the——

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. Wow. 

Ms. BASS [continuing]. Instability in DRC. You know what I 

mean? 

Ambassador NAGY. And you saw the news last night from DRC 

and the destruction of the voting machines and——

Ms. BASS. Yes. Not a good sign. 

Ambassador, final question. I want to know what your reaction 

is to a major security partner using the words of our Commander 

in Chief to endorse violence against unarmed civilians. Do you 

know what I am talking about? 

Ambassador NAGY. No, ma’am. 

26

Ms. BASS. The statements that were made about the caravans 

coming over the border. Essentially, the President was saying that, 

if people threw rocks, then he would consider that like, you know, 

a gun and that our military could fire back. And then there was 

a direct response in Nigeria to that which was basically cosigning 

that. 

And so, you know, the question is if you are concerned that such 

rhetoric will make it even harder to get our security partners to exercise restraint when dealing with unarmed civilians. 

Ambassador NAGY. I am certain that that was not the intention. 

Ms. BASS. No, I know it is not the intention. No, no, no. Of 

course it wasn’t the intention. 

Ambassador NAGY. Yes. I——

Ms. BASS. My question and concern is, when you are out there 

around the world and when comments or tweets or whatever are 

made in the United States, then how does that impact you trying 

to do your work or our Embassies trying to do their work calling 

for restraint? 

Ambassador NAGY. Well, the Embassies will just not use that 

type of expressions or will say not to tie that to the two sides. 

Ms. BASS. Okay. Again, I just want to make sure you are understanding me. I would not expect anybody——

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. 

Ms. BASS [continuing]. In the State Department to use that kind 

of rhetoric. My question is, when people hear that rhetoric being 

used here, that was clearly used as an excuse in Nigeria to then 

harm civilians. 

Ambassador NAGY. Right. Our Embassies would in no way support that. Absolutely. 

Ms. BASS. I yield back. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Garrett? 

Mr. GARRETT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I am going to go off on a tangent for a moment, because it is my 

understanding—and this is totally unrelated—that Turkey has now 

bombed targets inside of Iraq. And I want them to know that somebody in this country is watching. Like, today, as we sit here, it is 

happening. And that is just intolerable. And I hope that they take 

notice of the fact that we have taken notice. 

Back on the subject matter at hand, has any provision been 

made to ensure ballot access for displaced peoples in the upcoming 

election? 

Ambassador NAGY. Representative, that is one of the things—I 

mentioned that was one of our concerns, was the ability to have 

elections amongst all the displaced people. So, yes, absolutely, that 

is a concern, and that is an issue that the Embassy is following. 

Mr. GARRETT. But I believe your exact reference was to IDPs, 

correct? 

Ambassador NAGY. Both——

Mr. GARRETT. And we are on the same team here, right? I mean, 

I think——

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. 

Mr. GARRETT [continuing]. I want to advance the same agenda 

you do, which is free and fair elections in Nigeria——

Ambassador NAGY. Absolutely. 

27

Mr. GARRETT [continuing]. And a Nigeria where people are tolerant of one another. 

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. 

Mr. GARRETT. So I am grateful that the answer is yes. But do 

you have any idea what percentage of the people who are refugees 

attempting to cross the Mediterranean right now are Nigerian or 

from the Lake Chad region? 

Ambassador NAGY. I am sorry, I don’t. We can check on that and 

get back to you. 

Mr. GARRETT. I don’t want you to have to do that. But would you 

concede—and, again, we are on the same team here. 

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. 

Mr. GARRETT. Would you concede that there is a significant number of displaced people from the Lake Chad region in Nigeria who 

are moving north and even trying to——

Ambassador NAGY. I would suspect yes. 

Mr. GARRETT. And so these people, essentially—and, again, I am 

on your team here. 

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. 

Mr. GARRETT. It is by training as a prosecutor, so I want you to 

know that this is not adversarial. But these people aren’t going to 

have an opportunity to vote, right? 

Ambassador NAGY. No. 

Mr. GARRETT. They are voiceless. And if we want to create a Nigeria where people can live side by side regardless of ethnicity or 

religious differences, these people won’t have a say in shaping a future if they ever choose to return, right? I mean, it is——

Ambassador NAGY. That would be problematic. I did want to say 

that, with some countries—and I am not sure if Nigeria is one of 

them—that they will allow voting at their Embassies for their expatriate populations. But like I said, I am not sure what the rules 

are in Nigeria. 

Mr. GARRETT. Well, that might be something that I would ask 

you guys to look into, right? I think that is a great idea. We know, 

you know, the ports of debarkation of a lot of these refugees. And 

even if a handful of displaced Nigerians who were not internally 

displaced were able to go to an Embassy or consulate and vote, 

that would be awesome, right? 

Do we know of any specific efforts by Fulani militants or Boko 

Haram to disrupt the election and the electoral process? 

Ambassador NAGY. No specific information, but I am sure that 

that would be an aspirational goal of theirs. 

Mr. GARRETT. Now I am going to walk the dog backwards a little 

bit. Do we know any nation-states or entities contained within definable nation-states that might be responsible for funding of 

Fulani militants or Boko Haram? 

Ambassador NAGY. No. I don’t. 

Mr. GARRETT. Okay. 

Ambassador NAGY. I absolutely do not. 

Mr. GARRETT. Yeah. And, again, that is probably out beyond your 

purview, but you get it. I mean, all this stuff sort of lays on top 

of——

Ambassador NAGY. Not nation-states. Absolutely not. 

28

Mr. GARRETT. So there are no Middle Eastern countries that you 

can speak to that we can track funding Boko Haram or Fulani? 

Ambassador NAGY. No. 

Mr. GARRETT. Okay. 

And digging a little bit deeper down into stuff that matters to the 

election but not directly election-related, has Boko Haram pledged 

allegiance to ISIS? 

Ambassador NAGY. There are two parts of Boko Haram. They 

have both pledged allegiance to ISIS, but when Boko Haram broke 

into two in 2016, ISIS went with the break-off unit that we now 

call ISIS West Africa. The original Boko Haram has been kind of 

pushed aside by ISIS, and they are the least effective of the two 

branches. 

Mr. GARRETT. Right. And I want to tell you that I ask questions 

sometimes that I do know the answer to, not to make you look bad 

but to make sure that somewhere there is a video record of the fact 

that somebody in this country is tracking this. 

And, tragically, the word ‘‘ISIS’’ tends to move U.S. foreign policy. And when you have things like Boko Haram acting as a bad 

actor, not just in interfering with elections but interfering with life 

itself, that if we can tag them with their ISIS allies, maybe the 

global community will feel more compelled to act. 

Which dovetails with my next question, which is rather informal. 

But I believe it was about 4 years ago that President and Mrs. 

Obama took part in the Bring Back Our Girls hashtag campaign, 

right? 

Ambassador NAGY. Uh-huh. 

Mr. GARRETT. But this last April would have been 4 years. What 

happened to it? And I know it is not within your official responsibility. What is going on there? 

Ambassador NAGY. I am not sure how many of the girls have 

been retrieved. 

Do you know? 

Mr. DAY. It is my understanding, but through just reading reports, that the majority, if not all, of those girls have been returned 

through various means. However, there have been other 

kidnappings. And so there are numerous issues throughout the 

northeast and Middle Belt, of course. 

Mr. GARRETT. One of us is right, and one of us is wrong. And I 

am not saying this because I think you are wrong. I could be 

wrong. Right into the camera. But my understanding is that about 

half the girls have still not been retrieved. And I guess the global 

community has sort of moved on to the next big hashtag. 

That is in no way, shape, or form to impugn anyone. I thank 

Mrs. and President Obama for their activity to that end. But I 

won’t forget about these human beings who are living, in my understanding, in many cases in forced marriages, who have been 

subject to violence to include rape. 

And, again, the reason sometimes I ask questions I know the answer to is if somebody hopefully can metaphorically weaponize this 

video to say the United States is still freaking watching and that 

we won’t tolerate regimes that tolerate entities that do this to their 

subjects, to human beings. 

29

Ambassador NAGY. Also, Representative, may I add, there was a 

second kidnapping from Dapchi. And all of those girls have been 

returned, with the sole exception of one. 

Mr. GARRETT. Super. Thank you. And, again, I am on the same 

team as you guys. I am trying to work within my responsibilities 

in this branch of government while you do yours from yours. 

The other thing that strikes me as sort of tragic is there is a debate in the global news community on the number of people killed 

in the herder-farmer violence and the Fulani militant movements, 

Boko Haram movements, and there is a debate as to the proportion 

of those killed. So I believe someone affiliated with the administration said 60,000 Christians have been killed by Muslim radicals. 

Now, I know that the good guys and the bad guys weaponize information for propaganda purposes. Do we have a number on the 

people who have been killed? And do you have any idea as to the 

proportion of who has been killed? I know that both sides have lost 

people, and every human life has value. But what sort of numbers 

do you have on that? 

Ambassador NAGY. The best number I can give you, this year, up 

to now, has been about 1,300 directly in the herder-farmer violence. 

I do not have the proportion breakout as to who was who. 

Mr. GARRETT. I am sorry. This year, 1,500? 

Ambassador NAGY. Thirteen hundred this year. 

Mr. GARRETT. Okay. 

Ambassador NAGY. But that is just the Middle Belt violence. 

That is not anything related to Boko Haram or anything like that. 

That is just that. And, again, those numbers, I also understand, 

are very problematic. 

Mr. GARRETT. Right. 

Ambassador NAGY. Because——

Mr. GARRETT. Well, I am asking you for your best guess, knowing 

that at least nobody that I can find knows the real answer. 

Ambassador NAGY. Yeah. Exactly. That is the best I can give 

you. And like I said, we can get a breakout as to who is who. But 

my view of——

Mr. GARRETT. Has the violence and bloodshed disproportionately 

affected the Christians in the south? Because my understanding is 

it has, but there are literally arguments from AFP and other legitimate news outlets saying we don’t really know who the dead people 

are. Has it been disproportionately levied against one community 

by another, to your knowledge? 

Ambassador NAGY. To my knowledge, I am not certain. I would 

guess that disproportionately there have been more farmers killed 

than herders. 

Mr. GARRETT. Okay. 

Ambassador NAGY. That is from my experience. 

Mr. GARRETT. Again, I am not—this isn’t——

Ambassador NAGY. That is my experience, not my direct knowledge. 

Mr. GARRETT. Right. Sure. 

Mr. Day, anything to flesh that out? 

And I know there are no wrong answers. I am trying to gather 

information, having already tried to gather information, and 

bounce what I have heard off of what you guys got. 

30

Mr. DAY. My impressions are the same. 

Mr. GARRETT. Okay. 

When we shape policy—and, again, the vast bulk of American 

foreign policy is going to come out of the executive branch, rightly 

so. But when we shape policy, we have to shape it with the right 

information, right? 

And this is not me finger-wagging at you guys. 

And I get frustrated because this body, good Members like Ms. 

Bass, who has left now, and Mr. Smith, if we can’t get the right 

information, we can’t formulate the right legislative policy to support the executive implementation of foreign policy. 

So we could do this all day long—and, again, I am on your team. 

This is not adversarial. We could do this all day long in Nigeria. 

We can work our way up into South Sudan and Sudan, and then 

we can move up across the Sinai into Syria and Iraq and go over 

to Burma, and it is just—so the ignorance is literally, if you live 

in Nigeria or any number of places, deadly. So, just venting. 

I thank you guys immensely. 

And thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Garrett. 

Let me just ask, if I could, Mr. Day, in the area of conflict mitigation and the money that we spend there, you know, I have counted 

up the number of tolerance projects, 18 of them, 4 building bridges, 

a number of engaging communities in peace in Nigeria, building 

bridges between farmers and herders. 

And I am wondering if you could speak to the success of that. 

Again, how well-included are clergy, both Muslim and Christian, in 

those efforts? We know that in South Sudan the clergy is extraordinarily involved with conflict resolution and building bridges. And 

if you could just speak to that here. 

And what is the impact this might have on this election? I mean, 

these have been going on for a while. It is a tremendous initiative. 

Is it having results? If you could speak to it. 

I noticed one of the costs was $4.8 million from 2012 to 2018. So, 

you know, you didn’t just start doing it; it has been ongoing. 

But if you could speak to its success and the impact on the election too. 

Mr. DAY. Sure. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

You know, in certain states in Nigeria, particularly Borno state 

in northeast Nigeria, it is extremely difficult for USAID programs 

to operate. And so many of our programs in northeast Nigeria are 

going to be based on humanitarian assistance. There are acute humanitarian assistance needs, particularly in Borno state. 

We have more activity, of course, in the Middle Belt. And we 

have seen, where we do have conflict mitigation and antiviolence 

programs, we have seen a decrease in violence. So that has been 

encouraging. 

So gaining access to the areas in which we need to be working 

is critical. In some places it is just very difficult to get in there. 

We continue to see farmer-herder conflict. The timing of these 

elections are during a time in which we very well may see additional herder-farmer conflict because of the movement. So it is 

something that we are continuing to watch and monitor. 

31

There is also intercommunal fighting as well. So that is another 

issue that is something that is incredibly important. 

But we have a wide range of programs for dispute resolution and 

alternative dispute mechanisms. But where we have been able to 

operate, we have seen significant success. 

Mr. SMITH. Generally speaking, are the clergy and imams being 

brought in for a united front, particularly in the final month of the 

election, the final 2 weeks to the election? 

Ambassador NAGY. No, absolutely. And I wanted to point—there 

have been just a couple of extraordinary examples. For example, 

the imam who saved hundreds of Christian villagers when the village was attacked by Muslim Fulani. 

The Embassy keeps just a constant outreach. Again, I would just 

like to underline that that is one mission that stays constantly on 

the ground. They are sending the Ambassador, the Deputy Chief of 

Mission to the area, and they engage with everybody, and especially motivating the clergy of both sides, because they are the key, 

they are the ones that people respect. 

Mr. SMITH. Let me just ask very briefly, yesterday, the President 

signed the 5-year extension of PEPFAR. And for the record, I am 

the prime sponsor of that bill and was very happy to do so. I was 

here when Henry Hyde sat in this chair and led the effort to do 

the original President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which 

was, I think, an extraordinary global health initiative unmatched 

by anything that this country has ever done. 

Sixteen million people have been saved, 2 million children who 

otherwise would have been HIV positive from their moms. That has 

not happened. And then the prevention side, the ARVs, for those 

with the positive test, have been extraordinarily effective. It even 

makes them less likely to transmit the disease because it reduces 

the viral loads. 

But one of the things that this committee has done, we have had 

also hearings on Chemonics and, you know, the supply chain and 

lateness. And I am wondering if you—Nigeria is one of the few 

countries where the U.S. Government manages the entire health 

system supply chain for ARVs. And I am wondering how that is 

working in Nigeria. 

We have been concerned in the past that if your ARV is late—

or any other medicine, frankly, but that too—your chances of being 

sicker escalate. 

Mr. DAY. Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding that the programs we have for combating HIV and AIDS in Nigeria are operating as planned. However—and I haven’t been made aware of any 

major issues in Nigeria—it still remains a highly complex environment in which to operate. But we will look into any major issues, 

and we will certainly get back to you. 

Mr. SMITH. Okay. I appreciate that. 

Having just been with a good friend and colleague, Karen Bass, 

in South Sudan—we were just in Ethiopia, as well, on another 

trip—one of the things that was so appalling in South Sudan was 

the theft of food and medicine, but particularly food, intended for 

the most disadvantaged. And it was government troops and others 

that took it. And I know you know very well, both of you, how disappointing that is. And a lot of mechanisms have been put into 

32

place to try to mitigate that thievery, which takes the food literally 

out of the hands of starving people. 

Let me just ask, finally, if you could, maybe speak to, again, the 

launch today, some of the highlights, if you would like. Or you 

could get back to us for the record, you know. And, without objection, we will include, you know, major portions, if not the whole 

thing, into this record. Because I think, you know, today is a momentous day, when you make such a huge announcement. 

And, Mr. Garrett, do you have anything else? 

And would you like to speak to it or just submit it for the record? 

Ambassador NAGY. I would like to go back to you for the record 

later. The one thing I did say this morning is that we had an engagement session afterwards, and I said that it is the type of policy 

that I have been waiting for for a long time. But I will be very 

happy to get back with the details, sir. 

Mr. SMITH. That would be great. 

I do have one final question. I was the House sponsor of the 

Global Magnitsky Act. We ended up putting it into the NDAA. 

The actual idea came from a bill I did in 2004 called the Belarus 

Democracy Act, holding people to account by visa denial and disallowing their ability to be involved with financial transactions. 

That then became the Magnitsky Act. And Dr. Bill Browder, who 

has testified here several times before this committee, really championed that so effectively and then said it ought to be global. It is 

global. 

And I am wondering, especially with this election coming up, if 

the word could at least be out there that if you commit violence—

and that goes before or after any election—that you are not going 

to get a visa to come here, we are going to have names, and you 

are not going to be able to do business here. And our hope would 

be that the EU—the way they do it with the Belarus Democracy 

Act. 

I have met with Lukashenko a number of times, the man that 

runs Belarus, and he is none too pleased with that act because he 

and so many people were affected—it is now waived because they 

have let out the political prisoners and there has been some reform. 

But it seems to me, until there is a penalty phase, there are some 

people who will never get it. 

And so hopefully you will have that as something to try to, again, 

chill any violence that might be committed, atrocities and the like, 

against people in this upcoming election. 

Ambassador NAGY. As a matter of fact, Mr. Chairman, yes, that 

is one of our points in discussing these elections, is that we will not 

hesitate to apply that to those committing human rights violation, 

interfering with the democratic process, and a list of other things. 

And that is a very, very effective tool. Thank you very much, sir. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. And thank you for your willingness to 

use it, because if it is, obviously, a penalty that stays on the shelf 

and collects dust, then it is not only disrespected, it is laughed at. 

So my hope would be that there would be a robust use of it. 

Again, thank you. We are looking forward to seeing you next 

year. And without any—Mr. Garrett, anything? 

This hearing is adjourned, and I thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 3:07 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

(33)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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33670n.eps

SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING NOTICE 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

W ASHTNGTON, DC 20515-6128 

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations 

Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Chairman 

December 6, 2018 

TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN hearing of the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs to be held by the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and 

International Organizations in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building (and available 

live on the Committee website at ht.ill.:Lf-':':JN_J".FQt:_ejgtlJl!'lliir~,bQuse.gQ_y): 

DAn:: 

TIME: 

SUBJECT: 

WITNESSES: 

Thursday, December 13, 2018 

2:00p.m. 

Nigeria at a Crossroads: The Upcoming Elections 

The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr. 

Assistant Secretary 

Bureau of African Affairs 

U.S. Department of State 

Mr. Ramsey Day 

Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator 

Bureau for Africa 

U.S. Agency for International Development 

By Direction of the Chairman 
35

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33670m.eps

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

.MIN UTES OF S U BCOM.I'v11TTEE O:N Af'rica, G~~-Health, Global Human Rights, and lnternutiomtl Organizations HEARING 

Day_---"J:--'h--'u--'rs'-'d"ac-cy __ Date December 13, 2018 Room ___ -=2-=1-'-7"2 __ _ 

Starting Time _ __:2cc:l.,10"p"-m"---_Ending Time 3:07pm 

Recesses =-=· L_to _ __) L_to __ )( __ to___) ( __ to __ ) L_to __ ) L_to ___) 

Prcsidjng 1\'Iember(s) 

Chairman Smith 

Check all ~(the following that app(y: 

Open Session 0 Executive ({!Qsed) Session 0 Televised D 

TITLE OF HEARING: 

Nigeria at a Crossroads: The Upcoming Elections 

SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: 

Ranking Member Bass, Rep. Garrett 

Electronically Record!'!!.( taped) 0 

Stenographic Record L:LJ 

NON-SUBCOMJVIITTEE MEI'I'IBERS PRESENT: (Mm·k with an * ifthey are not members of fit!/ committee.) 

HEARTNG WITNESSES: Same as meeting notice attached? Yes GJ NoD 

(If "no", please list be law and include title, agency, deparfment, or organization.) 

STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD: (List any statements submitted jar the record.) 

-Chairman Smith: Letter on human rights abuses in Nigeria 

TIME SCHEDULED TO RECONVENE----

or 

TIME ADJOURNED _____ _ 

SublOmmittee Staff As;~ci~!;;------ -
36

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, 

A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AND CHAIRMAN, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS


33670c-1.eps
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33670c-2.eps

In our view, the U.S Government should seriously consider Nigeria for inclusion as a "Country of 

Particular Concern" due to the ongoing violence, persecution, intimidation, and assault on Christians 

and other people of faith. It is disappointing that Nigeria was not included in the Secretary's 

announcement this week. 

We urge you to use the levers aud powers of American ideals aud diplomacy to urge a solution to the 

crisis affecting Christians and demand that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari move immediately 

to protect Nigerians, particularly Christians. 

Sincerely, 

Jon Schweppe, Director of Government Affairs 

American Principles Projecl 

Arlin!,>ton, VA 

Thompson Ayodele, Director 

Initiative for Public Policy Analysis 

Lagos, Nigeria 

Adebayo Temidayo, General Secretary 

Saint Raphael Catholic Society 

Akure, Nigeria 

cc 

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo 

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for the Bureau of Atiican Affairs, Tibor Nagy, Jr. 

Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback 

Senior Coordinator on Boko Haram, Ambassador Dan W. Mozena 

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, 

and International Organizations