Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to Abuja after representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at a major African Union summit in Angola, where Nigeria demanded tougher continental action against conflicts, insecurity and xenophobic attacks targeting Africans.

Shettima’s return came as Tinubu began a three-week annual vacation in Europe, leaving the Vice President back in the country after leading Nigeria’s delegation to the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Luanda.

The Presidency had announced that Tinubu departed Abuja on Sunday, August 30, for Europe, with London, United Kingdom, listed as his first destination.

According to the Presidency, the President is expected to spend part of his three-week break in London before proceeding to other European destinations.

It did not disclose the other destinations or indicate whether he would undertake any official engagements during the vacation.

Presidential Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, described the President’s break as

“well deserved”, saying Tinubu needed to “refuel” after months of intense engagement with the affairs of state.

Dare said the President had spent the past six to seven months taking what he described as “monumental” decisions on the economy, security and other critical areas of national development.

The President’s vacation comes at a sensitive period for his administration, with attention focused on the implementation of its economic reform programme, security challenges and efforts to attract investment and strengthen domestic production.

It also comes as political activity gathers momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, with fresh alignments and manoeuvrings already emerging within the governing All Progressives Congress and opposition parties.

While the Presidency did not attach any political significance to the President’s trip, Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria at the end of the three-week vacation to resume his official schedule.

In Luanda, however, Nigeria used the AU summit to push for a more assertive African response to the continent’s worsening peace and security challenges.

Representing Tinubu, Shettima called for stronger and more effective African-led mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, urging AU member states to assume greater collective responsibility for peace and stability.

Nigeria also raised the issue of recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other nationals in South Africa, calling for urgent continental action to protect Africans and uphold the principle of solidarity among member states.

Nigeria backed the Luanda Action Plan and advocated sustainable financing for Africa’s peace and security architecture, arguing that the continent cannot depend indefinitely on external support to confront its security crises.

Nigeria further pressed for greater African ownership of conflict-resolution efforts, insisting that the AU and its regional mechanisms must develop stronger capacity to anticipate, prevent and resolve conflicts before they degenerate into wider humanitarian and security crises.

The position comes against the backdrop of persistent conflicts, terrorism, political instability and cross-border security threats in different parts of Africa, challenges that have continued to test the capacity of the AU and regional organisations to maintain peace and stability.

For Nigeria, the Luanda engagement provided another platform to reinforce its longstanding advocacy for stronger regional cooperation and a more self-reliant continental security architecture.

Shettima returned to Abuja after concluding his official engagements in Angola.