The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has returned to Abuja after successfully representing President Bola Tinubu at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government, as well as the 30th AU General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, this year’s AU summit, held between February 14 and 15, 2026, with the theme, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” focused on advancing continental commitments toward sustainable water management, improved sanitation systems, and the broader development aspirations encapsulated in the AU’s Agenda 2063 framework.
Besides the Heads of State meetings, Senator Shettima participated in high-level side events and held bilateral engagements with political and business leaders aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic partnerships across the continent.
The Vice President secured the goodwill of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, who urged Nigeria to spearhead Africa’s quest for a restructured global order, describing the country as uniquely positioned to lead the continent toward superpower status.
On behalf of President Tinubu and Nigeria, the Vice President also called for a continental shift towards health security sovereignty in Africa aimed at moving the continent from reliance on foreign aids to self-sufficient, homegrown health systems.
At a high-level side event on “Building Africa’s Health Security Sovereignty,” on the margins of the Summit, the VP contended that it had become a matter of necessity to ensure the health of Africans is not subjected to the uncertainties of distant supply chains or the shifting priorities of global panic.
