Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to Samoa for the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit was cancelled after his plane was struck by a foreign object during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
A statement issued by Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the incident caused damage to the cockpit windscreen, prompting the immediate suspension of the journey.
He said in response, President Bola Tinubu swiftly approved the deployment of a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in Apia, the capital of Samoa, while repairs to the vice president’s plane commenced.
Onanuga disclosed that the delegation is being led by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal, and will attend the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which began on 21st October and is scheduled to conclude on 26th October.
He added that Vice President Shettima, along with Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar, has since returned to Nigeria from New York.