President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will embark on a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom beginning March 18, Buckingham Palace has announced.
According to a statement released on Saturday by the Royal Communications Office, the visit is at the invitation of King Charles III. The president will be accompanied by his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The trip marks the first state visit to the UK by a Nigerian president in 37 years. The last Nigerian leaders to undertake state visits to the UK were General Yakubu Gowon in 1973, President Shehu Shagari in 1981, and General Ibrahim Babangida in 1989.
King Charles, then Prince of Wales, has visited Nigeria on several occasions—in 1990, 1999, 2006, and 2018.
This will not be the first engagement between President Tinubu and the British monarch since both assumed office in May 2023. Tinubu met King Charles in November 2023 on the sidelines of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a meeting the president described as a significant step toward strengthening bilateral relations.
In September 2024, King Charles also hosted President Tinubu at Buckingham Palace for a private meeting. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said discussions at the meeting focused on global and regional issues of mutual concern, with particular emphasis on the urgent challenges posed by climate change.
The Royal Communications Office stated that further details of the state visit programme will be announced in due course.
