Shettima returns from two-week leave ahead of schedule

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to the country from his two-week leave, resuming two days ahead of his officially scheduled return date of August 20, 2026.

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Highly placed officials working with the Vice President confirmed to The PUNCH that Shettima returned to Abuja late Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

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“He returned yesterday evening,” said one official on Wednesday.

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“We were expecting him since yesterday. He has resumed,” an aide confirmed.

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The Vice President was, however, not in attendance at Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

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Shettima’s early return coincides with the commencement of campaigns on August 19 ahead of the 2027 elections, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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The Vice President had, with the approval of the President, proceeded on the two-week leave on August 6, 2026, his first since being sworn into office on May 29, 2023.

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A statement issued at the time by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, said the Vice President would use the period for “study, reflection and intellectual renewal.”

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Nkwocha described it as an opportunity for him to review the administration’s ongoing programmes and deepen his understanding of emerging national and global policy issues ahead of the intensified implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

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The statement noted that Shettima remained actively engaged in the coordination and supervision of several strategic government initiatives since assuming office, particularly in economic development, food security, humanitarian affairs, digital transformation, job creation and regional cooperation.

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He also chairs the National Economic Council, which brings together the governors of the 36 states, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other public officials.

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