NIGERIA: FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES AU SUMMIT AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001210 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV EAGR EAID EWWT KCRM PBTS PHSA PARCA UNSC, G8, KN, NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES AU SUMMIT AND G-8 ISSUES, RAISES NEED FOR U.S. PRESENCE IN KANO, KADUNA OR ENUGU STATES REF: A. STATE 065744 ¶B. STATE 61133 ¶C. STATE 58996 ¶D. STATE 61231 ¶E. ABUJA 1175 Classified By: Ambassador Robin R. Sanders for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Ambassador had a short June 28 breakfast meeting with Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe at his residence a few hours before his departure for Libya for the African Union (AU) Summit. Ambassador covered a range of issues ranging from Nigeria,s delegation to both the AU and upcoming G-8 Summits. On the AU Summit, Maduekwe said that he was still waiting for the final word from the President whether he was going to attend or not, which was why his departure to Libya had been delayed until the final decision (which he hoped would be later that afternoon) was made. He added that he would serve as delegation head if the President ultimately did not go. Ambassador than went through a range of the possible issues for the AU Summit, including the USG position on not establishing an international tribunal for Somali piracy (ref B) to which the FonMin concurred. On AU meetings, Ambassador noted that if, in the end, President Yar,Adua did not travel to Libya and given that the Foreign Minister had just had a 2-hour meeting with A/S Carson that the emphasis in Tripoli would be for A/S Carson to meet with those heads of state and foreign ministers that he had not yet engaged with since assuming his new position. Maduekwe understood this, but still added he would like to say "hello via a short courtesy call" if possible with the Assistant Secretary if time permitted, and if not he would understand given the generous amount of time A/S Carson had already given to him in Washington. Ambassador said she would pass this back, but reiterated that given the time constraints the emphasis on meetings would likely be as she just described. Maduekwe said once he had a definitive answer from President Yar,Adua about his AU attendance he would let the Ambassador know. ¶2. (C) On G-8 Summit, the FonMin affirmed that President Yar,Adua would be attending and that the GON had hopes during the G-8 Yar,Adua could meet on the margins with POTUS. Ambassador said she would pass this request back to Washington. She then went over the G-8 USG non-paper (ref C) that she had sent to the FonMin reviewing the USG positions on a variety of issues, but particularly on food security. Without hesitating the Maduekwe said he thought the GON could support our positions, and restated (see ref E) that certainly the GON was with us on food security issues presented by the global financial crisis that were covered in the non-paper. On ref D North Korea demarche he was non-committal. ¶3. (C) Out of the blue as Ambassador was leaving, the FonMin said he had a meeting in his Ministry recently where it was raised that countries like the USG should consider reopening their presence in cities like Kano, Kaduna, and Enugu (in the southeast). Without mentioning USG internal discussions, Ambassador noted A/S Carson,s remarks during his confirmation hearings on the need for the USG to look at reaching out more through reestablishing selected consulates, including in Nigeria. Maduekwe went on to add that it was important to have more of an "American consular presence in various cities in Nigeria to address the heavy visa demand." Ambassador did not respond to his remarks on the visa issue, but just reiterated the entire idea of reopening some location was something that had been mentioned and that she would pass back to the Department his Ministry,s support for the reestablishment of a U.S. Consulate in any of these three cities. ¶4. (C) Ambassador took advantage of the short meeting to get a better clarification on the June 24 "Niger Delta Amnesty Proclamation" signed by President Yar,Adua. She noted there was a bit of confusion on the details of the proclamation as on one hand there was a timeline of 60 days, but also a date ABUJA 00001210 002 OF 002 of October 4, 2009 (which is 100 days from the date of the proclamation) given as the deadline for various "militant elements" to lay down their arms. FonMin said he would check on that detail. Ambassador said she had read teh FonMin's recent comments at CSIS in Washington on the Niger Delta (ND),and on the GON's negative view of any outside or international mediation on ND issues. She asked if the GON stance would be the same on amnesty implementation, as there were numerous international bodies that had worked on these types of issues over the years which might be helpful. Maduekwe began by saying he hoped the international community would publicly recognize what Yar,Adua had just done with the amnesty proclamation, and that he believed that his government would hope that various "templates," best practices, and shared experiences on amnesty implementation in other countries would be shared with Nigeria during this process. He cited examples from Ireland to Indonesia as "templates" from which the GON could take best practices as regards to the details, technical assistance, and sharing of experiences to ensure that the ND Amnesty Proclamation is successful, and is concluded in the manner we all wish, with peace coming to the region by year,s end. ¶5. (C) Comment: FonMin Maduekwe's comments notwithstanding, we believe it is unlikely that President Yar'Adua will attend the AU Summit. He has not attended previous sessions, and is dealing with serious health problems which make travel increasingly difficult. Yar'Adua does not appear to give Nigeria's international role the same kind of high priority given it by his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo. End comment. ¶6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS