Vice President Kashim Shettima departed Abuja yesterday for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the commissioning and naming of a $315 million oil production and storage facility.
The facility, a fully Nigerian-owned oil and gas company acquired by Oriental Energy Limited, is scheduled for commissioning today.
According to a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, after the event in Dubai, the vice president will proceed to Saudi Arabia where he will perform the Lesser Hajj (Umrah) in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah from December 16 to 19, 2024.
On December 20, 2024, Shettima is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with the president of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jeddah.
Discussions will 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 is expected back in Nigeria on or before December 21.
Meanwhile, 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 yesterday.
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.