US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a four-nation tour to Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Angola. His trip to Africa is part of a follow-up to last year's US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington with African leaders to convince them to stop relying on the Russian Wagner mercenary group and instead lean on Washington to help restore security and stability.
Blinken said the US is set on working closely with Nigeria on security and in the fight against religious extremism in West Africa. He said the US would provide an additional $45 million to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old program to nearly $300 million.
