The All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United States has requested to testify at the US House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday the 20th of November, 2025. This action comes as American lawmakers are currently engaged in a review of President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), over alleged religious persecution.
In a letter addressed to the Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Chris Smith, the APC USA stated it is prepared to dispatch a high-level delegation to present what it described as “firsthand intelligence and verifiable data” on Nigeria’s security realities.
The request was confirmed by Prof Tai Balofin, Chairman of the APC USA, in a statement released in Abuja. Balofin expressed the group’s intention to provide clarity and address what it considers to be misconceptions surrounding the nature of Nigeria’s security challenges.
Balofin emphasized the group’s stance on faith and freedom, but critiqued the international discourse:
“We support religious freedom for all Nigerians, but narratives abroad often fail to reflect the full complexity of the crisis.”
He further outlined the group’s perspective on the core drivers of instability in the country:
“The insecurity in Nigeria is driven by banditry, resource conflict, climate pressures and transnational crime-not solely by religious persecution. Congress deserves the complete picture before reaching conclusions,”
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According to Balofin, the planned testimony is also intended to highlight what the APC USA views as significant security gains under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The delegation from the APC USA also plans to use the opportunity to recommend deeper US–Nigeria cooperation on security, intelligence sharing and humanitarian support.
This request to testify before the US Congress closely follows a recent diplomatic exchange where Nigeria criticised the United States for excluding it from a UN event hosted by American rapper Nicki Minaj, which focused on alleged killings of Nigerians from a particular faith group.