Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has abruptly been called upon to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas.
Earlier, JolibaLive reported the departure of Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday for Dallas. However, following guidance from the Presidential Air Fleet which detected a technical fault with his aircraft, the VP’s trip was aborted.
A statement from the presidency says the VP will now stay back and focus on other national assignments, while the Foreign Minister proceeds to represent the president.
Strange Presidential Fleet Troubles
This is the second time in two week that problems have arisen with presidential aircrafts. On April 25, President Bola Tinubu was reportedly forced to travel from the Netherlands to Saudi Arabia for the World Economic Forum on a charted commercial flight.
It was learned that an aircraft in the presidential fleet was undergoing rehabilitation while a second one he was travelling with developed a fault with the oxygen system.
Opposition Reacts
Currently, President Tinubu is still not in Nigeria. Some reports suggest Mr Tinubu is in France for health-related reasons, but the presidency has kept mute over the raging issue.
Had the VP travelled, he and the president would have been out of the country at the same time.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar fired up a tweet to ask about the president’s whereabouts at a time of “daunting challenges“, and if the nation was now on “autopilot”.
As at press time, President Tinubu is yet to return to Nigeria.
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