TheCable

Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, has changed the plan of spending Monday night in Abuja before flying back to Washington.

Tillerson’s spokesman said the secretary had changed his schedule so that he would spend only a few hours in Nigeria before leaving late in the evening to fly home.

He is to return to Washington about one day ahead of schedule “to deal with urgent work there”.

Tillerson was billed to depart Nairobi, the capital of Kenya on Monday to Abuja for his first official visit in Nigeria, where he is expected to hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Tillerson told reporters travelling with him that top US diplomat’s travel plans have changed so that he can return to Washington early on Tuesday morning instead of late that night.

On Saturday while visiting Nairobi, Tillerson, cancelled his scheduled events because he had been feeling unwell.

Tillerson’s week-long, five-country visit to Africa has come amid other urgent foreign policy developments, including Thursday’s announcement that US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Tillerson’s visit to the Horn of Africa just days after he announced a new $533m aid package for Africa out of which 128 million dollars was earmarked for Nigeria and countries of the Lake Chad region.

When Tillerson meets Buhari, both men are expected to discuss counter-terrorism efforts and humanitarian issues in Nigeria’s North-East 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 the US Embassy personnel and participate in events related to US government-supported activities.