Aidoghie Paulinus
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will on Monday, March 12, 2018 arrive Abuja as part of his ongoing tour of some African countries.
Tillerson will arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport where he will be received by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olukunle Bamgbose.
Tillerson’s visit, according to US Department of State, is to further US partnerships with the governments and people of Africa.
The US Embassy Public Affairs Section, Abuja, in a media advisory made available to Daily Sun, said “The Secretary will arrive on Monday… The Secretary will be greeted by the Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before departing.”
The US Embassy further said Tillerson will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday morning at the Presidential Villa.
“Secretary Tillerson is expected to be joined in the press availability by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama,” the US added.
Recall that Ms. Heather Nauert, US Department of State spokesperson, had said that Tillerson will visit Nigeria and four other African countries from March 6 to 13.
Other cities on Tillerson’s tour of Africa include Addis Ababa, Djibouti, Nairobi and N’Djamena.
“On his first official trip to Africa, Secretary Rex Tillerson will travel to N’Djamena, Chad; Djibouti, Djibouti; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi, Kenya and Abuja, Nigeria, March 6-13, 2018.
“In particular, he plans to discuss ways we can work with our partners to counter terrorism, advance peace and security, promote good governance, and spur mutually beneficial trade and investment,” Nauert said.
Tillerson had last week met with the leadership of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa where he raised concerns over Chinese loans to African countries.
He particularly asked Nigeria and other African countries not to lose their sovereignty to China through acceptance of Chinese loans.