Vice-President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Dallas, United States, for the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit.
The summit, hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa, will take place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President will join other political and business leaders from Africa, the US, and beyond for high-level dialogues, networking sessions, and plenaries.
African leaders expected at the summit include Presidents Joseph Boakai of Liberia, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, Joao Lourenço of Angola, Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, José Maria Neves of Cabo Verde, and Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara of Lesotho.
Shettima is scheduled to speak at various sessions, including the Roundtable on African Infrastructure Investment and a plenary session on Navigating Africa’s Energy Future.
He is also scheduled to speak on a high-level panel on agribusiness, focusing on transiting “from food insecurity to thriving agribusinesses”.
He will also chair a session promoting the ‘Invest in Nigeria’ initiative and attend other meetings and engagements on the sidelines of the summit.
Shettima, who is expected to return to Nigeria at the end of his engagements, travelled at a time when the whereabouts of President Bola Tinubu have generated concerns.
Saturday made it exactly six days after Tinubu attended the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but he has yet to return to Nigeria.
The two-day forum, which aimed to help public and private sector leaders address shared global challenges, opened on Sunday, April 28th, and ended on Monday, April 29th, 2024.
The Presidency has not released any statement on what was holding the president back from returning to Nigeria.
This has led to speculation in some quarters that the president may have proceeded to Paris, France, where he had traveled several times for medicals.
However, two credible sources have independently told our correspondent that the president proceeded to London from the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
One of our two sources, a highly placed official at the Presidency, told one of our reporters Sunday that the president “is at the moment in London on a private visit.”
The official, who asked not to be mentioned, declined further comments on the reason for the president’s visit to London.
“I really don’t know, he (the president) has left Saudi Arabia, and he should be in London now, but I don’t have details. I don’t have an idea about it (the purpose of the president’s trip to London), but I think it is a private visit,” the official said.
Another top official at the Presidential Villa said there was no cause for alarm about the president’s whereabouts.
The official, who refused to disclose his boss’ whereabouts, assured that the president would return to the country “this weekend.”
The president had, on April 23, left Abuja for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on an official visit.
His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, had, in a statement, said the visit was at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Ngelale had said that while in the Netherlands, Tinubu would engage in high-level discussions with the Prime Minister and hold separate meetings with His Royal Majesty, King Willem-Alexander, and Queen Maxima of the Kingdom.
“While in the Netherlands, the president will participate in the Nigerian-Dutch Business and Investment Forum, which will bring together heads of conglomerates and organisations in both countries to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, especially in agriculture and water management, towards innovative solutions for sustainable farming practices,” he stated.