Plane failure forces Shettima to abandon trip to the United States

Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar will now represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, and not Vice President Kashim Shettima, as previously announced.

“Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was initially supposed to represent the president, was unable to make the trip due to a technical failure in his plane, which forced him to divert following the advice of the presidential air fleet,” the Presidency revealed in a signed statement. . on Monday afternoon by Shettima spokesperson, Mr Stanley Nkwocha.

The statement is titled “The Foreign Minister will now represent President Tinubu at the US-Africa Summit.”

Nkwocha said the vice president who has since returned to Abuja “will continue to perform other national duties.”

The high-profile summit, taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, will bring together political and business leaders from across Africa, the United States and other regions.

Organized by the Corporate Council on Africa, it features high-level dialogues, networking sessions and plenary sessions.

African leaders expected at the summit are Presidents Joseph Boakai of Liberia; Lazaro Chakwera from Malawi; Joao Lourenço Angola; Mokgweetsi EK Masisi of the Republic of Botswana; José María Neves of Cape Verde and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Nthomeng Majara.

The United States-Africa Business Summit aims to foster economic cooperation and explore investment opportunities between the United States and African countries.

In addition to the summit plenary session, the Foreign Minister is expected to speak at the Roundtable on Infrastructure Investment in Africa, focusing on impact and returns.

He is also scheduled to speak on a high-level panel on agribusiness, focusing on the transition “from food insecurity to thriving agribusiness.”

Additionally, Tuggar will speak at a plenary session on Navigating Africa’s Energy Future and chair a session dedicated to promoting the “invest in Nigeria” initiative.

He is also expected to attend other meetings and engagements on the sidelines of the summit, the statement said.

Tuggar is expected to return to the country after completing his commitments in the United States.