Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to Samoa for the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit has been cancelled after a foreign object struck his plane during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
A statement issued last night by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed that “the foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of the plane.”
In response to the incident, President Tinubu has promptly approved a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in the capital city of Apia while repairs on the plane are underway. The delegation will be led by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal.
The summit, which began on October 21, is set to conclude on October 26. Following the incident, Vice President Shettima and Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar have returned to Nigeria.