The Reason Why United States placed Nigeria on Watch List

Mary Leonard, the newly deployed US diplomat states that her home government placed Nigeria on their Watch List, in order to deepen conversation on the issue.

US Ambassador Reveals The Reason Why Nigeria Was Placed On Their Watch List


The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, on Tuesday said that America placed Nigeria on its watch list due to the humanitarian situation in the country. The newly deployed US diplomat disclosed that her home government took that step in order to deepen conversation on the issue.

In a statement by Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Leonard was quoted as saying,

There are people who make things less attractive than they seem.

The report (on Nigeria) will deepen conversation of the situation in the country especially with religious leaders and mediators.

The United States recognises and celebrates the integration in Nigeria and would always side with transparent processes.

I have worked for three decades before coming to Nigeria. We will do a lot together for peace, security and delivering humanitarian assistance.

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The United States Senate voted 53-45 against the president’s plan to sell $8 billion worth of U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia. 

Adding more fuel to the fire, just short of a dozen Republicans voted with Democrats and killed the deal.

The United States Senate voted against President Donald Trump..

The 7 Republican senators who voted against the President are:

Rand Paul (KY)
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine)
Lindsey Graham (S.C.)
Todd Young (Ind.)
Mike Lee (Utah)
Jerry Moran (Kansas)
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)


As noted by The Hill, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a veto statement against the resolutions of disapproval ahead of Thursday’s vote.

The change of ownership of these services and capabilities to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan supports the foreign policy  and national security objectives of the United States directly, by improving the security of friendly countries that continue to be important forces for political and economic stability in the Middle East.”

The assistant secretary of State for political-military affairs, R. Clark Cooper, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a statement:

That the White House has hit back at criticism from Congress, arguing that a heightened threat from Iran is its justification in invoking the emergency to provide weapons and resources to Saudi Arabia.

These sales and the associated emergency certification are to be used to address the military need of our partners in the face of an urgent regional threat posed by Iran; promote the vitality of our bilateral relationships by reassuring our partners; and preserve strategic advantage against near-peer competitors.”


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Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, the is working on a broader bill to approve the sale to Saudi Arabia, but it will likely limit certain weapons and resources that the U.S. can sell to the kingdom.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was in favor of the deal, and urged his colleagues to reject the effort to block the arms sale, arguing there were other steps lawmakers could take, including visiting the region or meeting with Saudi officials.

Rejecting long-planned arms sales strikes me as an overly blunt tool with several unintended consequences. The dynamics at play are not black and white. We can best shape these dynamics by working closely with our partners to encourage them in the right direction rather than turning our back.

Trump wanted to sell Saudi Arabia the weapons and resources amid rising tensions with Iran.

Iran has been responsible for carrying out an attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and shot down a U.S. drone, in the past few weeks.

The US Congress refused to work with the President,, Donald Trump, when he tried to combat the threat, Congress refuses to work with him.