Riley Moore, a member of the house of representatives in the United States, says his country will pay very close attention to the 2027 elections in Nigeria.
Moore spoke in an interview with NoireTV, a cable and streaming network dedicated to programming tailored to the African diaspora, posted early Monday morning.
Asked if the US would ensure that the upcoming polls in Nigeria would extend beyond being just a formality, Moore replied in the affirmative.
“We’re certainly going to be watching these results and how these elections unfold and how they’re executed. That’s something that myself and the administration are going to be paying very close attention to,” he said.
The lawmaker noted that the house was considering a bill that could reshape relations with Nigeria, particularly on religious freedom and US security assistance, if change is not effected in the West African country.
“We’re working on Chris Smith’s bill, which obviously I’m a co-sponsor of that bill. But I’d say more importantly what people need to pay more attention to is the Appropriations Bill that we’re going to have on the floor today which some call the State Foreign Operations bill or the National Security and State Department of Related Programs Bill,” Moore said.
“There’s a lot of language that is put on that bill that’s inside of it that relates to Nigeria, and the persecution of Christians, and restrictions on security assistance to the government of Nigeria, and steps that they have to take.
“That bill is likely to become a law. We’re about to hopefully pass that bill today. So there’s some pretty strong aggressive language in that bill that’s going to be binding as it relates to our relationship with Nigeria moving forward.”
Moore said he would continue discussions with President Donald Trump on the matter which he said is “very important” to the US leader.
Moore is a co-sponsor of the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, introduced alongside Smith in February.
The appropriations bill the lawmaker spoke of stipulates conditions for financial assistance to Nigeria pending when the government of the African nation addresses violent attacks in parts of the country.
