Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to Samoa to represent Nigeria at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads Of Government Summit has been cancelled after a foreign object hit his plane during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayi Onanuga, said the foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of the plane.
President Tinubu reacted swiftly to the situation, approving a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in the Samoa capital of Apia.
While revealing that the plane’s repair has commenced, Onanuga said 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 2024, ending tomorrow, Saturday, 26 October.
In the meantime, Vice President Shettima and foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar have left New York for Nigeria.