Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s trip to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads Of Government (CHOGM) summit in Samoa has been aborted.

Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, said the cancellation was due to damage to the vice-president’s aircraft.

Onanuga said in a statement late on Thursday that a “foreign object” damaged the cockpit’s windshield.

He said the incident occurred during a stopover at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.President Tinubu, acting promptly, has approved a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in the Samoa capital of Apia while the plane’s repair has commenced,” Onanuga said.

“The delegation, which will now represent Nigeria at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, is being led by the minister of environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal.”

Onanuga said the vice-president and Yusuf Tuggar, the foreign affairs minister, have left New York for Nigeria.

THE CABLE