Vice-President Kashim Shettima has returned to Nigeria after representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Luanda, Angola.

Shettima returned to Abuja following the conclusion of his engagements at the high-level summit, where Nigeria pushed for stronger African-led mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution.

The Nigerian delegation also called for urgent continental action against recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks on Africans and other nationals in South Africa.

At the summit, Nigeria backed the Luanda Action Plan and advocated sustainable financing for Africa’s peace and security architecture.

The country also called for stronger collective responsibility among AU member states and greater African ownership of solutions to conflicts across the continent.

Shettima’s return comes amid concerns raised over his absence from the country at a time President Tinubu is also abroad on a three-week vacation in Europe as part of his annual leave.

The situation had drawn criticism from some opposition figures, with Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), questioning the whereabouts of Nigeria’s leadership.

Baba-Ahmed raised the issue at the G100 Summit held in Abuja earlier on Monday.

“We have a president who is out of the country, trying to cover up from Nigerians knowing the truth about what may have happened some years back when he was in America regarding drugs,”he said.

He also noted that Shettima was in Angola at the time, describing the situation as unprecedented.

“His deputy is in Angola. For the first time, perhaps, in the history of this country, you have a president who is outside the country and a vice-president who is outside the country.”

The PRP chairman subsequently questioned who was overseeing the affairs of the country in the absence of both the President and Vice-President.

“Who is in charge of the country now?”