[dropcap]S[/dropcap]imon Ateba, the Chief White House Corespondent for TodayNewsAfrica has accused the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, of keeping mum over allegation of fraud.
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According to Ateba, the activities of the agency on the African continent have always be shrouded in secrecy which raised the suspicions as to whether the millions of dollars from the American people are truly being used to feed the poor in Africa or just to enrich American NGOs and their cronies.
“REAL OR SCAM? On the surface, @SamanthaJPower, the former journalist turned @USAID administrator, appears to be spending hundreds of millions of American dollars in Africa to rescue those “poor” people from hell. However, when I wrote her office to inquire about how the money was being spent after last week’s announcement, they refused to respond, raising questions about whether the funds were reaching the people in need or simply being used to enrich American NGOs and their associates,” he queried.
Cameroon-born Ateba is proficient in five languages; French, English, Ewondo, Manguissa, and Yoruba. He revealed that he has never received assistance from USAID nor has anyone he knew personally that lives in Africa.
“As someone who was born in Africa, I have never received any assistance from @PowerUSAID or USAID, and I do not personally know anyone who has benefited from their support. I have often suspected that it’s all a scam on the American people and should be terminated, as it seems no real African in need is benefiting.
“It’s disheartening that while we rightfully get angry about those who loot stores being let off the hook, the individuals handling billions of dollars of American money that never reaches anyone are the ones being celebrated. I may be mistaken, and perhaps USAID isn’t a fraud or simply a means to advance CIA interests in Africa, as some suggest. Nonetheless, it is shocking that no African I know, whether here in the US or in Africa, has ever received any assistance from this program. And now that they refuse to answer questions, it becomes clear that there is a lack of transparency,” he said.
Ateba is calling for the resignation of the USAID’s administrator because the agency as it is lacks transparency and accountability.
“I’m not saying that Americans are being deceived, but it certainly has never helped any African that I know of. She should resign,” he submitted.
According to USAID website in Nigeria, it claimed that the country is home to the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty and it has been involved in providing better education among other things to its people.
“Although Nigeria has the largest national economy in sub-Saharan Africa, it must overcome significant development and governance challenges to fulfill its potential. With an estimated population of 214 million, of which approximately 96 million people live on less than $1.90 per day, Nigeria is home to the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty. USAID works in Nigeria to promote broad, inclusive economic growth, food and nutrition security, a healthier, better educated population, accountable, inclusive, and responsive governance, gender equality, access to renewable energy, and stability, including humanitarian assistance, in areas devastated by extremist violence,” the site was quoted.
However, further research to know the list of assistance the agency has rendered for the country drew a white screen. And some other pages returned the error message; The resource you are looking for has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
Samantha Power was sworn into office as the 19th Administrator of USAID on May 3, 2021 and she is mandated to lead an agency, which boasts of being the world’s premier international development agency over 10,000 people as its global staff.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
