• President Bola Tinubu is set to embark on a UK state visit in March at the invitation of King Charles III.
• The trip will be Nigeria’s first state visit to the UK in 37 years, last held in 1989.
• The visit is expected to deepen Nigeria–UK diplomatic and economic relations.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will undertake a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom in March, marking Nigeria’s first official state visit to the UK in 37 years, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The visit, scheduled to begin on March 18, is being held at the invitation of King Charles III and will see President Tinubu accompanied by his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
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The last Nigerian leader to be hosted on a state visit to the United Kingdom was former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, who was received by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1989.
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In a statement issued on Saturday, the royal communications team described the forthcoming engagement as part of long-standing diplomatic relations between both countries, noting that further details of the programme would be announced in due course.
State visits, according to the BBC, are a form of soft-power diplomacy, combining ceremonial royal hospitality with strategic efforts to strengthen relations with key international partners.
President Tinubu and King Charles III, who both assumed office in May 2023, have met on several occasions. In November 2023, the Nigerian president met the monarch ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, in Dubai, describing the engagement as a major step toward strengthening bilateral ties.
In September 2024, King Charles also hosted President Tinubu for a private meeting at Buckingham Palace.
Although the full agenda for the March visit has yet to be disclosed, Buckingham Palace said details of scheduled events would be released closer to the date.
King Charles has maintained long-standing ties with Nigeria and has publicly expressed admiration for Nigerian culture, including Pidgin English and Afrobeats music.
Before ascending the throne, the monarch visited Nigeria four times between 1990 and 2018 as Prince of Wales, with Queen Camilla joining him during the 2018 visit.
In 2023, the King’s Trust International officially launched operations in Nigeria, unveiling initiatives aimed at tackling youth unemployment and promoting entrepreneurship.