President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday briefly stumbled during a ceremonial march-past held in his honour at the parade ground in Türkiye, an incident that drew momentary attention before proceedings continued uninterrupted.
The incident occurred as the President joined the guard of honour during an official reception alongside his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A video shared by Turkish digital news platform Nefes Gazetesi showed President Tinubu walking with President Erdogan moments before he stumbled. He quickly regained his footing, and the ceremony proceeded as planned.
Tuesday’s reception began at about 5:00 pm local time with the playing of the national anthems of both countries, followed by a ceremonial 21-gun salute. After the formalities, both leaders withdrew for a closed-door bilateral meeting expected to focus on issues of strategic national importance.
President Tinubu is in Türkiye on a State Visit aimed at strengthening diplomatic, economic and security cooperation between both countries. His arrival in Ankara marked his first official visit to the European nation and follows President Erdogan’s visit to Nigeria in October 2021 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President’s aircraft touched down at Ankara Esenboğa Airport at exactly 9:03 pm local time, where he was received by a Turkish government delegation led by the Minister of National Education, Yusuf Tekin. Senior officials of the Nigerian mission in Türkiye, including the Chargé d’Affaires, Ambassador Zayyad Abdulsalam, were also present.
At his hotel, President Tinubu was welcomed by senior Nigerian officials accompanying him on the visit. They included the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; and the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd).
Other officials in attendance were the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim; the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh; Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson; the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed.
According to the Presidency, the visit is focused on consolidating long-standing relations between Nigeria and Türkiye while identifying new areas of cooperation that would deliver mutual benefits. The two countries already maintain strong ties in trade, defence, construction, education and technical services, with Türkiye playing an increasing role in Nigeria’s infrastructure and security sectors.
President Tinubu is scheduled to hold extensive bilateral talks with President Erdogan, covering defence collaboration, economic investment, energy development and technology transfer. Several Memoranda of Understanding are also expected to be signed, providing frameworks for enhanced trade, private sector engagement and technical cooperation.
A business forum will be held on the sidelines of the visit to connect Nigerian and Turkish investors and unlock new economic opportunities.
The State Visit was announced in a statement issued on January 26, 2026, by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
