Shettima jets off to AU summit, championing Africa’s water, sanitation future for Tinubu

Abdullateef Fowewe

Vice President Kashim Shettima has left Nigeria’s capital for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2026 African Union (AU) Summit, a top government official announced Thursday.

Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications in the Office of the Vice President, issued the statement confirming the departure.

“VP Shettima Departs Abuja to Represent President Tinubu at the 2026 African Union Summit,” it begins.

The event, themed “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” spotlights continental efforts on water management, sanitation, and AU’s long-term development blueprint.

Shettima will attend the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government on February 14, followed by the 30th General Assembly on February 15.

Nkwocha noted, “On the margins of the Summit, Senator Shettima will participate in high-level side events and hold bilateral engagements with political and business leaders aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic partnerships across the continent.”

Accompanied by cabinet ministers and senior officials, the vice president is set to return home after wrapping up his schedule, per the statement, “He is expected to return to Nigeria at the conclusion of his official engagements in Addis Ababa.”