The All Progressives Congress, APC, has said Nigeria’s security cooperation with the United States will not compromise the country’s sovereignty, insisting that all actions against terrorism are being jointly coordinated by both governments.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, stated this during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, February 4, while responding to concerns over recent United States involvement in Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts.
Morka explained that the partnership is built on mutual agreement and shared decision making, with Nigeria firmly in control of its national interests.
“What we know is that the US government and the Nigerian authorities are coordinating very closely in any effort to defeat terror in our country,” he said.
He noted that terrorism has inflicted severe hardship on Nigerians, with innocent lives lost to persistent violence.
“This is something that has brought hardship and pain and misery to our people where innocent citizens are slaughtered for no reason by these vile citizens, if they are citizens,” Morka said.
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Addressing fears that foreign involvement could amount to external domination, the APC spokesperson dismissed such claims, stressing that Nigeria is actively involved in every decision taken.
“I understand those concerns, but in many cases, the concerns are valid where the country where these boots step in, are not at the table in making decisions,” he said.
He added that Nigeria’s situation is different.
“That’s not the case here. In this case, this is a closely coordinated effort between our government and the authorities in the United States,” Morka stated.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu remains committed to doing whatever is necessary to eliminate terror threats, within frameworks agreed by both countries.
“So I’m quite sure that whatever is agreed at the table is what they will do on the ground,” he added.
“But the emphasis here is that those who seek to kill our people are dealt with and pushed back severally.”
Morka’s comments followed reports that the United States had deployed a small team of troops to Nigeria as part of ongoing security cooperation between both nations.