US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson is expected to arrive Nigeria this weekend as part of his current four-nation west African tour, sources said Friday.
The US mission in Nigeria, in a statement, merely said that Carson will visit Nigeria “in early February”, but did not confirm the exact date of his arrival in Nigeria for security reasons.
It said that the visit was “a follow-on US Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton’s August 2009 visit.”
But another diplomatic source said that Carson will arrive Lagos on Saturday and travel to Abuja on Monday to meet officials, including Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe.
A senior official of a major Lagos-based human rights organisation told AFP that he received an official notice that Carson will be meeting representatives of civil society groups in Lagos at the weekend.
“Carson’s visit underscores the continuing importance of the US-Nigeria bilateral relationship and the desire of the US government to engage with Nigeria on issues of importance to both countries,” a statement from the US mission to Nigeria said.
Carson will discuss with Nigerian authorities issues of governance, elections, corruption, trade improvement and investment opportunities, it said.
“The US government looks forward to working with the government of Nigeria as a partner on aviation security and other measures to combat international terrorism,” it added.
A Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, 23, son of a famous banker, is facing charges in the United States of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound passenger jet on Christmas Day.
“Our friendship and relationship with Nigeria has not changed. We thank Nigerians for their well wishes since the December 25 attempted attack, and as good bilateral partners we will work together against global threats such as this,” the statement quoted Carson as saying.
Carson’s intinerary in the region includes Ghana, Togo and Benin