President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will embark on a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom in March, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The visit will mark Nigeria’s first official state visit to the UK in 37 years. The last was in 1989, when former Military President Ibrahim Babangida was hosted for four days by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
According to the BBC, state visits are a form of soft-power diplomacy, using the pageantry of royal hospitality to deepen ties with key international partners.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Royal Communications Office said President Tinubu’s visit is at the invitation of King Charles III. The Nigerian leader will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
President Tinubu and King Charles, who both assumed office in May 2023, have met on several occasions. In November 2023, they met in Dubai ahead of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), an engagement President Tinubu described as a significant step toward strengthening bilateral relations. The monarch also received the Nigerian president for a private meeting at Buckingham Palace in September 2024.
While the agenda and programme of events for the March 18 visit have not been disclosed, Buckingham Palace said further details would be announced in due course.
King Charles has longstanding ties with Nigeria and has openly expressed his fondness for Pidgin English and Afrobeats music. Before ascending the throne, he visited Nigeria four times as Prince of Wales—in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018. He was accompanied by Queen Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, during the 2018 visit.
In 2023, the King’s Trust International, formerly known as the Prince’s Trust, was officially launched in Nigeria, unveiling initiatives aimed at addressing youth unemployment in the country.