December 07, (THEWILL) — Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where he will represent President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration of President Alassane Ouattara on Monday, December 8, 2025.
The swearing-in ceremony, holding at the Presidential Palace, marks the start of Ouattara’s fourth term following his re-election on October 25, 2025. The event is expected to attract African leaders and representatives from the international community.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President, Shettima is accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Omar Aliyu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission; Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Hon. Usman Zannah, who represents the Kaga/Gubio/Magumeri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
The statement noted that Shettima’s participation underscores the strong, longstanding diplomatic and economic ties between Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. Both countries maintain close cooperation within ECOWAS and the African Union on security, trade, development, and regional stability.
Their relations are further strengthened through a bi-national commission and several bilateral agreements covering anti-trafficking efforts, agriculture, the digital economy, and other strategic sectors.
A large Nigerian diaspora community in Côte d’Ivoire also reinforces these people-to-people ties.
President Ouattara’s continued leadership of one of West Africa’s largest economies is considered significant for regional stability and ECOWAS integration efforts.
Vice President Shettima is expected to return to Abuja at the end of the inauguration activities.
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