Vice President Kashim Shettima’s planned trip to Samoa for the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) has been canceled following an incident at JFK Airport in New York, where his plane sustained damage.
According to a Thursday night statement from Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, a foreign object struck the aircraft, damaging its cockpit windscreen.
In response, President Bola Tinubu promptly approved a ministerial delegation, led by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal, to represent Nigeria at the summit in Apia, Samoa.
The CHOGM, which began on October 21, is scheduled to conclude on October 26. Vice President Shettima, along with Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar, has returned to Nigeria while repairs on the damaged plane are underway.
The statement reads: “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.
The foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of the plane. 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.”
