Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima’s trip to Samoa was unexpectedly cut short when his aircraft’s cockpit windscreen was damaged by a foreign object during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
Shettima was en route to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, where President Bola Tinubu had appointed him to represent Nigeria.
The incident, announced by the Presidency in a statement on Thursday evening, led to the immediate cancellation of Shettima’s travel plans.
Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, confirmed that repairs on the plane had begun.
In response to the sudden disruption, President Tinubu approved a replacement delegation, now led by Minister of Environment Balarabe Lawal, to attend the summit on behalf of Nigeria.
The CHOGM event, which commenced in Apia, Samoa, on October 21, is scheduled to conclude on October 26.
