Vice President Kashim Shettima held talks with President Bola Tinubu at the president’s Ikoyi home in Lagos on Saturday and afterwards said the government would roll out new support programmes within weeks.
It was the first time the two men had been seen together publicly since Tinubu returned from a break in Europe and since Shettima got back from the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Shettima had left Abuja on Sept. 20 to lead Nigeria’s delegation at the assembly on the president’s behalf. Tinubu reached Lagos on Tuesday from Paris after four weeks of working leave.
Shettima told reporters the government kept in frequent touch with Tinubu while he was away and briefed him on events at home. He said the president’s sweeping economic decisions had kept the country from collapsing, and he recognised that many Nigerians are struggling. He named e-logistics in the North-West and electric tricycles in the North-East among projects due to start soon.
The president’s long absence set off a legal debate, with some opposition figures arguing that power should have passed formally to Shettima after 21 days under Section 145 of the constitution. The presidency said Tinubu continued to run government affairs from abroad. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu would spend several days in Lagos meeting political allies before heading back to Abuja.
