- US Congressman Scott Perry alleges that the USAID budget supports extremist organisations like Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda
- Perry questions whether USAID’s $60 million annual funding for women's initiatives in Afghanistan is actually benefiting them
- President Trump and Elon Musk push for USAID’s closure, accusing it of corruption and "rogue CIA work”
In a startling claim during a congressional hearing, US Representative Scott Perry accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of indirectly financing terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda.
Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, made the allegations on Thursday, February 13, during the first session of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.
The hearing, titled "The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud," focused on the misuse of taxpayer funds.
Claims of USAID funding terror groups
During his remarks, Perry suggested that a significant portion of USAID’s budget, nearly $697 million annually, was being funnelled into extremist organisations.
"Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding," Perry asserted.
His accusations extended beyond direct financial support, pointing to alleged mismanagement and fraud within USAID-funded projects.
Doubts over education spending in Pakistan
Perry specifically called out a USAID initiative in Pakistan, which reportedly allocated $136 million to construct 120 schools.
However, according to Perry, there is no evidence that these schools were ever built.
"USAID spent $840 million in the last 20 years on Pakistan’s education-related programme. It includes $136 million to build 120 schools, of which there is zero evidence that any of them were built. Why would there be any evidence? The Inspector General can’t get in to see them," he claimed.
Additionally, he criticised the agency for investing $20 million in educational television programmes for children who, according to him, could not physically attend schools because those schools "don’t exist."
Concerns over women’s programmes in Afghanistan
Perry also questioned the legitimacy of USAID’s funding of women’s programmes in Afghanistan, arguing that these funds were not benefiting their intended recipients.
"If you think that the programme under Operation Enduring Sentinel entitled Women’s Scholarship Endowment, which receives $60 million annually, or the Young Women Lead, which gets about $5 million annually, is going to women who, by the way, if you read the Inspector General’s report, is telling you that the Taliban does not allow women to speak in public, yet somehow you’re believing, and American people are supposed to believe, that this money is going for the betterment of the women in Afghanistan. It is not. You are funding terrorism, and it’s coming through USAID," Perry stated.
Trump and Musk push to shut down USAID
The US President, Donald Trump, has previously criticised USAID, calling for its closure due to allegations of corruption.
His stance has been echoed by billionaire Elon Musk, who Trump appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk has been vocal in his criticism of USAID, referring to it as "a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America."
He has also accused the agency of "rogue CIA work" and even suggested that it funded "bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people."
Trump, in support of Musk’s efforts, has vowed that DOGE will "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excessive regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies—essential to the ‘Save America’ movement."
Nigerian government wants a permanent seat for Africa on UN Security Council
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, called for a permanent African seat on the United Nations Security Council during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He also advocated for Nigeria to represent the continent on the global stage, citing the exclusion of African nations despite the fact that 60% of UNSC resolutions address African issues.