Vice President Kashim Shettima touched down in Freetown on Sunday, July 19, 2026, to stand in for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
Shettima arrived at Freetown International Airport, Lungi, where he was received by Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Also on hand were Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Ambassador Ayo Luther-Ogbomode, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS Ambassador Olawale Emmanuel Awe, and other officials of the Nigerian High Commission.
The summit is holding at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre in Freetown. Leaders from across West Africa, along with ministers, senior officials, regional institution representatives and business stakeholders, are expected to attend.
Top on the agenda are peace and security, democratic governance, trade expansion, deeper economic integration, infrastructure development, and sustainable growth. Organizers say the decisions reached will guide ECOWAS policy and shape how the region responds to current security, political and economic challenges.
Shettima’s presence signals Nigeria’s continued push to drive regional cooperation under Tinubu’s administration.
