Details of Tinubu’s Lieutenant, Shettima’s Meeting With American Billionaire Bill Gates Emerges

• Vice-President Kashim Shettima has described billionaires, Bill Gates and Aliko Dangote as “two distinguished individuals whose commitment to Nigeria’s progress is unparalleled”
• Shettima said Dangote and Gates have invested enormous resources into the welfare of Nigerians, spanning critical areas such as health, agriculture, nutrition, and education
• Legit.ng reports that Gates and Dangote were at the presidential villa in Abuja, on Wednesday, September 4

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering public journalism.

FCT, Abuja - Just before the 144th national economic council (NEC) meeting held on Wednesday, September 4, vice president (VP) Kashim Shettima welcomed Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and his team.

Legit.ng reports that Gates—who is on a two-day visit to Nigeria—was accompanied to the presidential villa, Abuja, by Aliko Dangote, the billionaire chairman of Dangote Industries Limited.

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Per a statement released by Stanley Nkwocha, the senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice president), the men discussed areas of intervention in Nigeria, which included health, polio eradication, nutrition/maternal mortality, agriculture, and other issues.

Nkwocha said:

"Shettima assured the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to global partnerships and support in human development.

"The VP said that everything would be put in place to ensure the total success of the programmes lined up by the foundation in Nigeria."

Shettima—standing in for President Bola Tinubu who travelled to China—called for a formidable alliance among key players in government at all levels as well as development partners in the bid to wriggle Nigerians out of poverty and enhance the quality of life for all the citizens.

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Furthermore, the vice president commended 'the efforts of development partners', particularly Messrs Gates and Dangote. The Nigerian No.2 citizen described both men as “two distinguished individuals whose commitment to Nigeria’s progress is unparalleled”.

Shettima said:

“Mr. Gates, in particular, has been a steadfast friend of Nigeria, contributing immensely to our nation's inclusive economic growth and the well-being of our people in both tumult and tranquillity."

Shettima cracks up audience over NBA invite

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Shettima had the audience in stitches when he remarked that he never imagined he would be invited to speak at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference again after the 2023 “sneakers saga”.

Shettima recalled trending on social media for nearly a month after being photographed wearing sneakers with a loose-fitting suit at the NBA event.

Source: Legit.ng