The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has cancelled his trip to Samoa to represent Nigeria at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads Of Government Summit due to a damaged plane, News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
He noted that the trip was cancelled after a foreign object hit the Vice President’s plane and damaged its cockpit windscreen during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
The statement, however, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit, adding that repairs have begun on the aircraft.
The statement reads, “President Tinubu, acting promptly, has approved a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in the Samoa capital of Apia while the plane’s repair has commenced.
“The delegation, which will now represent Nigeria at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, is being led by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal.
“The summit began on the Pacific island on 21 October. It will end on 26 October.
“Vice President Shettima and foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar have left New York for Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, this is the second time in five months that VP Shettima would cancel an official trip due to a plane problem.
In early May, the Vice President shelved a planned trip to the United States, where he was scheduled to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit due to a technical fault with his aircraft.
Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima’s media aide, said at the time that the VP was forced to make a detour on the advice of the Presidential Air Fleet.
