ABUJA, Nigeria – Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON, returned to the Federal Capital Territory on Monday morning following the successful completion of an eight-day diplomatic mission to the United States, where he represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and led the Nigerian delegation at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the State House announced in Abuja on Monday, September 28, 2026.
The presidential aircraft conveying the Vice President touched down at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, where he was received by senior cabinet ministers, defense chiefs, and top administrative aides upon concluding his overseas engagement.
Okay News reports that in an official statement issued in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima’s mission, which commenced on September 20, recorded major diplomatic and economic milestones across multilateral assemblies and bilateral roundtables.
During the high-level General Debate at the United Nations Headquarters, the Vice President delivered Nigeria’s National Statement on behalf of President Tinubu, demanding structural reform of the United Nations Security Council to include permanent seats for the African continent, while advocating for equitable global development financing, enhanced climate adaptation funding, and stronger international cooperation against illicit financial flows.
Representing Nigeria at the Third High-Level Roundtable of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, the Vice President delivered a strong case for continental resource industrialization, urging African governments to end the uninhibited export of raw critical minerals and instead establish domestic processing, refining, and manufacturing ecosystems that create local jobs and stimulate economic growth.
At a high-level ministerial education financing event co-hosted by Nigeria and the Government of Italy, Senator Shettima reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to education as a primary driver of national productivity and human capital development, mobilizing international donor backing for the Global Partnership for Education’s $5 billion financing replenishment campaign.
The Vice President’s itinerary also included extensive consultative sessions with the newly appointed leadership of the Economic Community of West African States Commission on regional security and trade integration, as well as bilateral discussions with United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Hajiya Amina J. Mohammed focusing on multilateral support for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Engaging Nigerian professionals and business executives in the diaspora, Shettima highlighted the administration’s institutional reforms, calling on citizens abroad to channel their expertise, capital, and global commercial networks toward expanding domestic manufacturing and digital enterprises.
The return of the Vice President precedes the arrival of President Tinubu, who is scheduled to conclude his European working vacation and arrive in Lagos on Tuesday ahead of celebrations marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on Thursday, October 1.
