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| Photo credit — President Bola Tinubu & VP Kashim Shettima |
Vice President Kashim Shettima paid a visit to President Bola Tinubu at the President’s residence in Lagos on Saturday, 3 October 2026. The meeting took place shortly after Shettima returned from representing Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and after Tinubu ended a working vacation in Europe.
The visit was publicly confirmed by Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to the President on Social Media.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Shettima said he had stayed in regular contact with the President throughout Tinubu’s time abroad. He noted that modern communication technology made it possible for the President to remain informed about developments in Nigeria.
“Well, we are quite thrilled that he is back on the seat and we have been in regular contact throughout his sojourn abroad,” Shettima said. “So we have been in regular contact, we speak almost every other day and we are updating him on developments in the nation and we are happy he is back on the seat.”
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Defence of major economic reforms
Shettima used the opportunity to defend two of the administration’s most significant economic decisions: the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of multiple foreign exchange rates.
He described the state of the country’s foreign reserves when the current government took office as critically low.
“When we assume the mantle of leadership, our foreign reserves was a staggeringly low $3.9bn that was not enough to import fuel for one month,” he stated.
According to the Vice President, Tinubu showed the political will to take decisions that earlier administrations had avoided.
“He had the courage and the conviction to take far-reaching decisions,” Shettima said. “He saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism.”
In related remarks reported across major outlets, he also described the economy at the time as having been on the verge of collapse and said the reforms prevented the country from “falling into pieces.”
Acknowledgement of hardship and planned interventions
Shettima acknowledged that many Nigerians are facing real economic difficulty as a result of the reforms. He insisted the hardship would not be permanent.
“We appreciate the pains Nigerians are going through, but tough times do not last forever; tough people do,” he said.
He disclosed that the Federal Government is preparing several interventions. One of the programmes highlighted is an e-logistics initiative for the North-East that will involve 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and e-taxis. Additional support measures for students and other vulnerable groups are also said to be in development.
“Be rest assured that we’ll come up with programmes and projects to ease the pains of the people,” Shettima assured.
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Focus on governance ahead of 2027
On the approaching 2027 general elections, the Vice President observed that political activity is already increasing but emphasised that the administration intends to balance politics with the work of governing.
“Politics is in the air, but we’ll combine politics and governance,” he said.
The Lagos meeting was the first public interaction between the President and his deputy since both returned to the country — Tinubu from Europe and Shettima from the United Nations.
Sources / further reading: Reports from Punch, Channels Television and ThisDay (3–4 October 2026).
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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