Vice President Leaves For Switzerland To Attend 54th World Economic Forum

Vice President Kashim Shettima left Abuja on Sunday to represent Nigeria at the 54th edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, scheduled from Jan. 15 to Jan. 19.

At WEF, Shettima will meet other political and business leaders around the globe to discuss global socio-economic and development issues.

As per the official statement issued on X, formerly known as Twitter, the vice president's focus, besides the plenary session, will be the launch of the Private Sector Action Plan for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) at a special session that he will co-chair.

The vice president is also scheduled to hold high-level talks with the Managing Director of International Finance Corporation, Makhtar Diop, and the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, among others.

During the annual meeting, Shettima is expected to chair a roundtable on Nigeria's economic path and participate in a special session focused on building trust in the global energy transition program.

The vice president is expected to fly back to Nigeria after attending the week-long event. No details of the delegation were revealed.

The departure of Shettima to WEF came a few days after Nigerian President Bola Tinubu reduced the entourage on foreign trips for top officials including himself, the first day and the vice president.

Tinubu instructed State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa on Jan. 9 that during a foreign trip, local security agencies should be used instead of taking a high number of security officials from Abuja.

During international trips, not more than 20 people will be allowed to travel with the president. However, the number of accompanying staff will be cut down to five for the first lady and vice president. The same applies to the vice president's wife.

This decision was announced after Nigerians slammed the Tinubu-led administration for allegedly sending 1,411 Nigerian delegates to attend the COP28 summit in Dubai amid the economic hardships faced by the country.

Nigerians are going through a difficult time since the government announced fuel subsidy removal, which increased fuel and food costs. The country is also grappling with the oil theft issue alongside kidnapping and mass killing.