Rex Tillerson has been fired as the US Secretary of State, moments after his visit to Africa which culminated in his meeting with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, just yesterday in Abuja.
Trump plans to appoint CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace the former Exxon Mobil chief executive. The president picked deputy CIA Director Gina Haspel to run the spy agency.
Just before he was ousted as Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson had cast the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain as part of a “certain unleashing of activity” by Russia that the United States is struggling to understand – diverging from the White House’s official response.
Tillerson warned that the poisoning would “certainly trigger a response.”
His remarks came hours before President Donald Trump announced that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would replace Tillerson as the top U.S. diplomat.
During his visit to Nigeria on Monday, he met President Buhari and they discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries.
The ex-Secretary of State had also warned Nigeria and the rest of Africa against accessing financial help from China.
Trump announced Tillerson’s sacking via his verified Twitter handle:
Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018
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