Fatimah Otunsanya
President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his planned trips to South Africa and Angola, directing Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegations to both summits, senior State House officials revealed to our correspondent on Friday.
The officials familiar with the development revealed that the VP is currently airborne to South Africa to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit on the President’s behalf.
“It is a recent arrangement. They just finalised it this afternoon,” one source confirmed.
Shettima is scheduled to proceed to Angola afterwards for the AU–EU Summit.
The trip was postponed before. But looking at the situation of things, it is better he remains in the country to deal with the issues,” another official stated.
Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to comment publicly.
Friday’s decision follows a spate of security incidents at home, including the abduction of schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, the attack and abductions at a church in Eruku, Kwara State, and the Friday-morning seizure of Catholic schoolchildren in Minna, Niger State.
The President will remain in Abuja to receive situation reports from security chiefs and direct ongoing operations.
Tinubu had tasked security agencies to intensify search-and-rescue efforts and tighten preventive deployments in the affected areas.