Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa has been cancelled due to an incident at JFK Airport in New York.
The trip was cancelled after a foreign object struck the aircraft during a stopover, damaging the cockpit windscreen.
In response to this unexpected development, President Bola Tinubu has approved a ministerial delegation that will be led by the Minister of Environment Balarabe Abass Lawal to represent Nigeria at the summit, which is currently taking place in Apia, Samoa.
The summit began on October 21 and is set to conclude on October 26.
Shettima and Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar have since departed New York and are returning to Nigeria.
This cancellation marks the second time in five months that Shettima has had to withdraw from an official trip due to aircraft issues.
In May, he also cancelled a planned appearance at the US-Africa Business Summit due to a technical fault with his plane.
The ongoing Commonwealth summit includes leaders from 56 member countries discussing themes of resilience and collaboration for a connected future.
