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.

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 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 stated.

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 US Embassy personnel and participate in events related to US government-supported activities.

Earlier reported gathered reveals 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.

Tillerson will be in Chad and Nigeria today, March 12, as scheduled, but scrapped plans to spend the night in Nigeria.