Amid Tinubu’s Unexplained Absence, Minister To Represent Him At US-Africa Summit

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, will represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was originally scheduled to attend in place of the president, was unable to make the trip due to a technical fault with his aircraft which forced him to make a detour.

Stanley Nkwocha, the VP’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, announced the rearrangement on Monday.

The high-profile summit, taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, will bring together political and business leaders from across Africa, the United States, and other regions.

Among the African heads of state expected are President Joseph Boakai of Liberia, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, President Joao Lourenço of Angola, President Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi of Botswana, President José Maria Neves of Cabo Verde, and Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara of Lesotho.

Notably, President Tinubu’s whereabouts have been unknown for the past seven days since he attended the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he spoke on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

The two-day forum, which ended on Monday, April 29, 2024, was aimed at helping public and private sector leaders address shared global challenges.

However, since his participation at the event, Tinubu has suddenly disappeared from the radar, with no official statement from the presidency or the president’s handlers regarding his whereabouts or what is holding his return to Nigeria.

This has sparked speculations that Tinubu may have proceeded on a medical trip abroad.