Tag: Shettima

• …condoles with victims’ families

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed profound dismay over the tragic tanker explosion at Dikko Junction, Niger State, which claimed several lives and left many others injured.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and the government and people of Niger State.

He assured them of the federal government’s commitment to preventing future occurrences.

The Vice President extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, as well as the government and people of Niger State.

Shettima’s message follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s earlier directive for immediate medical assistance to survivors and the implementation of stricter safety protocols along major highways.

Read Also: Armed Forces Remembrance: Shettima, Akpabio, others honour fallen heroes

The incident, which occurred when a fuel-laden tanker en route from Kaduna to Gwagwalada overturned at Dikko Junction, has prompted the federal government to announce a comprehensive review of transportation safety measures.

The president has also tasked the National Orientation Agency with launching an immediate nationwide awareness campaign on the dangers of approaching accident scenes involving fuel tankers.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Davos, Switzerland, to represent Nigeria at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, announced this in a statement issued from the State House, Abuja, on Sunday. 

The prestigious event, which attracts global leaders, top business executives, and development partners, will focus on addressing pressing global economic issues and fostering solutions to improve global prosperity.

During the high-profile gathering, Vice President Shettima will participate in a series of workshops, bilateral meetings, and strategic forums. 

One of the key highlights of his engagement will be a workshop titled “Roadmap to Co-create Investment Opportunities for Africa’s Frontier Markets”. 

Organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with the WEF, the session will explore strategies to boost capital inflows into Africa’s markets and advance sustainable development across the continent.

Read Also: Shettima reaffirms administration’s commitment to reviving Nigeria’s economy

Notably, the Vice President will join discussions on the launch of the Humanitarian and Resilience Investing (HRI) Roadmap for Africa, which aims to build partnerships between public and private sector leaders to mobilize investments in the region’s emerging markets.

Shettima is also set to co-chair a forum on “Turning Digital Trade into a Catalyst for Growth in Africa”, where participants will deliberate on how to leverage the private sector to implement the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol, adopted in January 2024. 

The forum underscores Africa’s drive to harness digital trade as a key driver for economic growth and regional integration.

As a panelist at the “Global Risks 2025” dialogue, the Vice President will contribute to discussions on geopolitical, technological, and environmental challenges outlined in the latest Global Risks Report. 

This event promises to provide insights into strategies for navigating a rapidly evolving global landscape.

In addition to his scheduled events, Shettima will attend a dinner for heads of state, government, and international organizations, alongside distinguished honorees and business leaders.

Accompanying the Vice President to Davos are key government officials, including the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi. 

Their presence underscores Nigeria’s commitment to fostering partnerships and attracting investments for national and continental development.

The Vice President is expected to return to Abuja after his engagements in Davos.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has called on journalists across Nigeria to embrace their role as the conscience of the nation by speaking truth to power without resorting to antagonism.

Drawing the distinction between antagonism and speaking truth to power, he also urged members of the fourth estate of the realm to, as a matter of necessity, always strive to strike a balance between their allegiance to self and to truth.

Senator Shettima who gave the charge yesterday  during the Public Presentation of the Book, “Persona Non Grata,” authored by a seasoned journalist, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel, said the goal must hinge on serving a greater good and a deserving humanity.

According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said “what must be spelt out is that there is a distinction between antagonising a government and speaking truth to power. The latter is driven by a noble principle to serve a greater good and a deserving humanity.

“The former, on the other hand, is usually a self-serving exercise that fades into futility, and that is not the end we should aspire to achieve with the information and ideas we labour to acquire and process in our line of work,” he stated.

Read Also: Damboa fallen soldiers are eternal heroes, says Shettima

Taking a leaf from “The Republic,” a Socratic dialogue, written by the Greek Philosopher, Plato, the Vice President pointed out that to really build a nation that can best be described as an ideal state, the intellectual class, especially the journalists, must be allowed to be the nation’s conscience.

Categorically, the VP told the journalists that apart from speaking truth to power, the nation also needs them, as media professionals, to serve as the country’s conscience.

He continued: “No political leader, however sincere their intentions, can excel beyond the scale of the knowledge at their disposal, and this is particularly telling in our political space.

“While we need an army of courageous media professionals to speak the truth to power, we also need them to serve as the conscience of the political institutions and individuals who influence the evolution of society, including the questions of our collective survival.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima has reiterated the Tinubu administration’s dedication to revitalising Nigeria’s economy and transforming its healthcare sector.

This is just as the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) has announced a donation of $5 million to the Rotary Foundation to address maternal mortality in Nigeria.

Speaking yesterday during a courtesy visit by the Chair of the Trustees of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, Mark Daniel Maloney, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, VP Shettima lauded the significant contributions of Rotary International and other stakeholders to Nigeria’s development. 

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully committed to repositioning the Nigerian nation. He is a revolutionary leader who has made far-reaching decisions for the betterment of this country – decisions unmatched in contemporary history,” he said.

The Vice President affirmed Nigeria’s readiness for economic resurgence, urging Rotary International to deepen its involvement in combating environmental challenges such as desertification and deforestation through initiatives like the Great Green Wall project.

In a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said “we need your support in aggressive environmental regeneration. It’s a win-win for all,” he added.

Senator Shettima also assured of the federal government’s continued investment in education to address Nigeria’s youthful demographics, noting that education is the ultimate game changer which offers the opportunity for even the most disadvantaged to rise and make an impact. 

Read Also: Damboa fallen soldiers are eternal heroes, says Shettima

He stated: “With education, within a generation, the son of a pauper can be a celebrated icon. Ours is a young nation and the average age of the Nigerian nation is 16.9. Education gives us the greatest window to engage these young ones.

“The trajectory of global growth is facing Africa and Nigeria will make or mar that transition. One out of every four black people is a Nigerian. Nigeria is where the action is because Nigeria is where the human needs are more tremendous”.

Earlier, Maloney commended Nigeria’s strides in healthcare, especially the eradication of wild poliovirus, attributing the success to strong government partnerships.

Vice President Kashim Shettima will be the special guest of honour at the public presentation of a book, titled: Persona Non Grata, written by The Sun Deputy Editor (Politics) Ismail Omipidan, on January 18 in Abuja.

A statement by the author, who was the Chief Press Secretary to immediate past Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, said Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN) will be the chairman of the ceremony where Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, will be the chief host.

Read Also: Shettima highlights leadership lessons at Oyebanji’s daughter wedding

Dignitaries in public and private sectors are expected to grace the event slated for Ladi Kwali Hall of Abuja Continental Hotel (formerly Sheraton).

Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to empowering youths through skills acquisition, emphasising its importance in addressing unemployment and driving economic transformation.

He underscored the inevitability of skills acquisition among the young demographic in Nigeria, noting that the nation can no longer afford to keep growing a population of idle, unemployed and unemployable youths.

According to a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima spoke on Friday during the Combined Graduation Ceremony of the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

The Vice President stated: “The danger of paying lip service to technical and vocational skills acquisition is one none of us is prepared to experience, and the examples of various low- and middle-income countries, especially the Asian Tigers, are there to inspire the direction of our National Development Plans and push our economic drive towards a destination we all desire—a place of boom.

“This is why His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has championed economic reforms beyond the usual cosmetic fixes to lay the groundwork for greater opportunities ahead. With increased allocations to the states, I believe that we are more than energised to fund our development programmes”.

Recalling Nigeria’s origin as an agrarian nation, Senator Shettima noted that there is no greater inspiration than concentrating on “the magnitude of initiatives made possible by the proceeds of the sector and the hard work of those skilled and unskilled workers who were the fulcrum of our pre-oil economy”.

Read Also: Shettima to visit Nasarawa on one-day working visit

He said the graduation ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the sincerity of the administration’s promise to create avenues for upskilling and reskilling the nation’s workforce across sectors.

VP Shettima pointed out that the institute is a vehicle through which the APC-led government fulfils its promise to Nigerians to “prioritise poverty reduction, employment generation, and job creation”.

Cautioning against harbouring the population of unemployed youths in the country, he said, “The reality we inherited points to the existence of a link between youth unemployment, violence, and other associated crimes, and as such, we cannot afford to create an idle, unemployed, or unemployable demographic.

“Our response, over which we gather here today, is to build on our agenda of providing our youths with skills to either find gainful employment or become self-reliant. This grand event, the Combined Graduation Ceremony for the graduands of the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute, Lafia, aligns with the direction the world is headed—the path of skill acquisition.”

Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima has expressed satisfaction with the performance of Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule especially in the area of food production, noting that the Governor has fulfilled his promises to the people of the state.

He said that Governor Abdullahi Sule has completely turned Nasarawa State to an agricultural powerhouse of the Nation.

The vice president stated this yesterday in Lafia on a one-day working visit to the state to flagged off the distribution of tractors and Jangwa Paddy rice to all 13 local government areas of the state, as well as  sharing of relief items to victims of 2024 flood disaster at government House.

He said that Nasarawa State has taken position to feed the nation; adding that the federal government would continuing to support Nasarawa State in its quest to proffers solution to food crisis in Nigeria.

According to him,” Federal Government under leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will continue to identifying with Nasarawa State and render whatever support and assistant necessary to enable the state succeed ,” he said.

The Vice president also informed that Nigeria’s economic has picking up; promised that the country is going to record a bomber harvest in 2025. 

On the distribution of relief items, Shettima said that the Federal Government under Tinubu would continue to support the less privileges who had been affected by disaster in order to better their living condition in their various localities.

The initiative, part of the Federal Government’s food security agenda, aims to enhance agricultural productivity and support communities affected by floods.

The paddy rice, sourced from the state-owned Jangwa Rice Farm, was distributed alongside relief materials to flood victims, reaffirming the government’s commitment to mitigating crises and fostering development.

Read Also: Why Shettima is visiting Nasarawa, by govt 

Senator Shettima underscored the interdependence of peace and development and commended the present administration in the State for uniting the diverse ethnic and religious groups.

“There can never be development without peace, and there can never be peace without development,” he said. 

The Vice President also commended the state’s agricultural potential, describing it as an “agricultural powerhouse”.

He emphasized the significance of mechanization, noting that distributing tractors would empower farmers and local governments to boost yields and strengthen food security.

The Vice President also performed the Ground-breaking ceremony of the One-Stop Investment Centre and Multi-door Court house in Lafia. 

The project is World Bank Funded through the bank’s SABER initiative

Governor Sule expressed gratitude to the Vice President and Federal Government for their unwavering support in promoting peace and development in Nasarawa. 

“This initiative reaffirms our commitment to making Nasarawa a beacon of agricultural productivity and peaceful coexistence,” the governor remarked.