President Bola Tinubu will embark on a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom on March 18, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday.
In a statement, the royal communications team said the visit would be undertaken at the behest of King Charles III. The President will be accompanied by his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The visit marks the first state visit to the UK by a Nigerian leader in 37 years.
The last three Nigerian state visits to the UK were undertaken by Yakubu Gowon in 1973, Shehu Shagari in 1981, and Ibrahim Babangida in 1989.
King Charles, then Prince of Wales, had previously visited Nigeria in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018.
Although this will be Tinubu’s first state visit to the UK, it will not be his first meeting with the British monarch. Both leaders assumed office in May 2023.
Tinubu met King Charles in November 2023 ahead of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The President described the meeting at the time as a significant step toward strengthening bilateral ties.
In September 2024, the King received Tinubu at Buckingham Palace for a private meeting. According to presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, both leaders discussed global and regional issues of shared priority, with particular focus on the urgent and complex challenge of climate change.
The royal communications team stated that further details of the President’s state visit programme would be announced in due course.