US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives Abuja

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives Abuja

The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has arrived Abuja for his first official visit to Nigeria.

Tillerson has visited Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Chad. Nigeria is his last stop on his five-country tour of Africa.

His arrival was disclosed in a tweet by the US mission in Nigeria on Monday, March 12.

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Breaking: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives Abuja
Rex Tillerson on his arrival in Nigeria, photo credit, Josh Lederman - Twitter

Tillerson is the highest ranking official in the Trump administration to visit Nigeria. A press advisory from the US embassy had stated that the Secretary of State would hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, March 13.

”Tillerson is expected to be joined in the press availability by Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama,” the embassy said.

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When Tillerson meets Buhari, both men are expected to discuss counter terrorism efforts and humanitarian issues in Nigeria’s Northeast and the Lake Chad basin.

He is also expected to discuss how to advance peace and security, promote good governance, and spur mutually beneficial trade and investment with the president.

During his trip, he is expected also to meet with U.S. Embassy personnel and participate in events related to U.S. government-supported activities.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Tillerson cut short his trip to Africa by about a day to deal with pressing matters in the United States.

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Steve Goldstein, said on Monday, March 12, that Tillerson will end his trip early to deal with work that needs to be attended to in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg reports.

Legit.ng gathered that Tillerson will be in Chad and Nigeria on Monday, March 12, as scheduled, but scrapped plans to spend the night in Nigeria.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Kess Ewubare avatar

Kess Ewubare Kess Ewubare is a former senior political/current affairs editor at Legit.ng. He has a diploma in-law in addition to a BSc and a master’s degree in mass communication. Kess is a journalist with over 10 years of working experience in several fields of journalism ranging from radio presenting, television news reporting, newspaper reporter, feature and magazine writing as well as online and multi-media journalism.