Vice President Kashim Shettima will depart Abuja on Friday, December 13, 2024, for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the commissioning and naming of a $315 million oil production and storage facility.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, in a statement on Friday said, the facility, a fully Nigerian-owned oil and gas company acquired by Oriental Energy Limited, is scheduled for commissioning on December 14, 2024.
He explained that after the event in Dubai, the Vice President would proceed to Saudi Arabia where he would perform the Lesser Hajj (Umrah) in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah from December 16 to 19, 2024.
According to him, Vice President Shettima is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jeddah on December 20, 2024.
Nkwocha said discussions would focus on co-financing arrangements for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ Phase II) and enhanced coordination of IsDB projects in Nigeria, aimed at bolstering the nation’s agricultural and economic development.
He said the Vice President is expected back in Nigeria on or before December 21, 2024.
Meanwhile, he said the Vice President attended the wedding Fatiha of the son of the Honourable Minister for Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, at the Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna earlier on Friday.
The wedding was between Ibrahim A. Bagudu and his bride, Amina Tatari Ali. Upon arrival, the Vice President was received by Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, at the airport.
Prior to the wedding ceremony, VP Shettima observed the Friday Juma’at prayers at Sultan Bello Mosque.
He was accompanied by the Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule; Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum; and Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Aliyu Modibbo Umar.
Other dignitaries who attended the wedding included Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Jigawa State Governor, Umar Namadi; Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya; Governor of Kebbi State, Dr. Nasir Idris; and Sokoto State Governor, Dr. Ahmad Aliyu.
Also present were: Senator representing Zamfara West senatorial zone, Alhaji Abdul Aziz Yari; Senator representing Plateau South of Plateau, Simon Bako Lalong; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle; and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, among many other dignitaries.
