Nigeria’s vice president Kashim Shettima will no longer represent the country at the scheduled Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa 2024.
In a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and titled “Cockpit windscreen of VP Shettima’s plane damaged at JFK airport, ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at Samoa Commonwealth summit,” the Presidency disclosed that the trip was postponed because “a foreign object hit his plane during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York,” leading to a broken windscreen which cannot be flown with.
Nigeria will now be represented at the biennial event by a delegation headed by Environment Minister Balarabe Lawal, according to the statement which disclosed that the vice president, Shettima had left Abuja for the event last Sunday upon request of President Bola Tinubu.
The statement read in part:
“A foreign object struck his plane during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York, cancelling Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to Samoa to represent Nigeria at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit. The plane’s cockpit windscreen was harmed by the alien object.
“While the jet is being repaired, President Tinubu has swiftly authorised a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Environment Minister Balarabe Lawal is leading the group, which will now represent Nigeria at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in 2024.”
October 21 marked the start of the summit on the Pacific island, which would conclude on Saturday, October 26.
The first CHOGM was to take place on the Pacific island of Apia, Samoa, from October 21 to 26. The vice president was to attend together with King Charles of England and other world leaders from 56 member nations. The subject will centre on how member nations can use resilience to build on their strengths, unlock potential, take advantage of the “Commonwealth Advantage,” and promote a digitally linked Commonwealth.
The next Commonwealth Secretary-General will be chosen and appointed during the summit by Nigeria and other participating nations. “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth” will be the topic of discussion among the leaders.
Onanuga disclosed, however, that “Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar and Vice President Shettima have left New York for Nigeria.”
Shettima will cancel this journey in the middle for the second time. He was supposed to attend the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, in May on behalf of the President, but he had to return in midair because of a technical issue with his plane.
According to the Presidency, Shettima followed the Presidential Air Fleet’s recommendation to postpone the trip.
