The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has returned to Abuja after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government and the 30th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday and Saturday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, disclosed this in a statement.
During the summit, the Vice President met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who urged Nigeria to lead Africa’s push for a restructured global order, describing the country as uniquely positioned to steer the continent toward superpower status.
Shettima also used the platform to advocate for a continental shift toward health security sovereignty in Africa, calling on African nations to reduce dependence on foreign aid and build self-sufficient, homegrown health systems.
The summit, themed “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” brought together African heads of state and government to advance commitments toward sustainable water management, improved sanitation, and the development aspirations outlined in the AU’s long-term Agenda 2063 framework.
Shettima participated in high-level side events and held bilateral engagements with political and business leaders on the margins of the summit, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic partnerships across the continent.
Speaking in Ethiopia, Shettima said it had become necessary to insulate the health of Africans from the uncertainties of distant supply chains and the shifting priorities of global crisis response.
“It has become necessary to ensure that the health of Africans is not subjected to the uncertainties of distant supply chains or the shifting priorities of global panic,” the Vice President said.
So far, Shettima has spent 73 days abroad, visiting 16 countries on 22 separate trips.
He has covered over 43,000 nautical miles (79,000 kilometres) and accumulated more than 93 flight hours.
His foreign trips have taken him to Rome, Italy; St. Petersburg, Russia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Havana, Cuba; Beijing, China; Iowa and New York in the United States (three times); Davos, Switzerland (three times); Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Stockholm, Sweden; Baku, Azerbaijan; Liberia; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Conakry, Guinea.
