NIGERIA: MEETING WITH OBASANJO

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 002684

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2006
TAGS: PREL NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: MEETING WITH OBASANJO


Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter. Reasons 1.5 (b)
and (d).



1. (C) On October 18, Ambassador Jeter met briefly with
President Obasanjo and NSA Mohammed to discuss Obasanjo's
upcoming "working visit" to the United States. Obasanjo said
the trip would have to be short -- he could not arrive any
earlier than the morning of November 2 and had to return to
Nigeria by November 4. Former President Mandela had invited
Obasanjo to Burundi on November 1. Obasanjo had committed to
go before he knew about the Washington date. He stated that
he could not now disappoint Mandela. On the back end of his
schedule, he had to return home promptly from the U.S.
because of the start of his party's national convention.



2. (C) Despite the long flight from Burundi, Obasanjo stated
that he would be ready to meet POTUS late in the morning of
November 2. Because of his time constraints, Obasanjo will
not attend the Corporate Council on Africa's Philadelphia
conference; the planned Baltimore speech is apparently also
of the boards.



3. (C) However, Obasanjo still is considering a Houston Stop
on November 3. In Houston, he would like to see former
President Bush and probably like to meet senior executives of
oil and oil service companies and visit with a gathering of
the Nigerian community in Houston, which likely represents
the largest concentration of Nigerians in the U.S. In a pull
aside after the meeting, Special Presidential Advisor Adobe
Obe told us that the President might also like to pay a visit
to Rice University. The Baker institute was also raised, and
Adobe asked us to informally approach the Baker Institute to
ascertain if they would be interested in receiving the
Nigerian President.
Jeter