Like Tinubu, Shettima departs Nigeria

Vice president, Kashim Shettima, has departed Abuja for Senegal, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the country’s 65th Independence Day Anniversary celebrations.

Shettima, who flew out on Thursday afternoon, is expected to return to Nigeria on Friday.

Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice-President, made this known in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

“Senegal celebrates its Independence Day on April 4 each year, commemorating its freedom from French colonial rule in 1960. The day is marked by national pride, with ceremonies, parades and cultural events,” Stanley Nkwocha, the vice-president’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

“The Vice President’s attendance at the annual event is in honour of an invitation extended to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the Senegalese President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, following the strong mutual relationship between Nigeria and Senegal.

“The Independence Day celebrations will be held at the Place de la Nation in Dakar, with President Faye playing host to Vice President Shettima and other distinguished guests from across Africa and beyond.”

Shettima’s trip comes barely 24 hours after Tinubu travelled to Paris, the French capital.

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, described the president’s trip as a “short working visit”.

He said Tinubu would review his administration’s achievements so far during the trip.