Tinubu Set for “UK State Visit” After 37 Years

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President Bola Tinubu will embark on a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom on March 18, Buckingham Palace has announced.

In a statement released on Saturday, the royal communications team said the visit was extended at the invitation of King Charles.

The president will travel alongside his wife, Oluremi Tinubu.

The trip marks the first UK state visit by a Nigerian president in 37 years.

Nigeria’s most recent state visits to the UK were undertaken by Yakubu Gowon in 1973, Shehu Shagari in 1981, and Ibrahim Babangida in 1989.

King Charles, then serving as Prince of Wales, visited Nigeria in 1990, 1999, 2006, and 2018.

The forthcoming visit will not be the first engagement between Tinubu and King Charles, both of whom assumed office in May 2023.

Tinubu met the British monarch in November 2023 ahead of the 28th United Nations climate change conference (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

At the time, the Nigerian president described the meeting as a meaningful step toward strengthening bilateral relations between Nigeria and the UK.

In September 2024, King Charles again received Tinubu at Buckingham Palace for a private audience.

Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, said discussions during the meeting covered global and regional issues of mutual concern, with emphasis on the pressing challenge of climate change.

The royal communications team noted that additional details of Tinubu’s state visit programme would be released in due course.