Vice President Kashim Shettima has left Abuja for Johannesburg to stand in for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, following the President’s decision to remain in Nigeria to address pressing security concerns.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, November 21, in Abuja.
He stated that “following the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to stay back in Nigeria and attend to security concerns in the country, Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja to represent the President at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.”
Tinubu had earlier postponed his scheduled trip to South Africa to receive detailed briefings on the recent abductions in Kebbi and Kwara States.
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chairs the G20 group for this year, had extended an invitation to Tinubu to participate in this year’s gathering.
The summit will run from Saturday, November 22, to Sunday, November 23, at the Johannesburg Expo Centre.
It brings together leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies alongside the European Union, African Union and key global financial institutions.
Nkwocha added that “the Vice President will return to Nigeria at the end of the engagements.”
Shettima is expected to use the platform to advance Nigeria’s economic and diplomatic interests while Tinubu coordinates the national response to ongoing security threats.