President Bola Tinubu has arrived back in Nigeria following a state visit to Turkey aimed at deepening diplomatic and strategic ties between both countries.
The aircraft carrying the president touched down at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 8:55pm on Saturday.
The Presidency confirmed his return in a short statement made available to State House correspondents on Saturday evening.
Tinubu commenced the official visit on Tuesday, during which he held a series of bilateral engagements with Turkish authorities. A major highlight of the trip was his meeting with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Discussions between both leaders centred on expanding cooperation between Nigeria and Turkey in key areas of shared interest, including security, defence, energy and economic development.
As part of the visit, the president also witnessed the signing of nine bilateral agreements spanning defence, energy, security collaboration, research and other strategic sectors.
Members of the presidential delegation included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Earlier, Nigeria and the Republic of Türkiye set a new trade target of $5 billion as both countries move to strengthen economic, security and diplomatic cooperation.
The commitment was announced on Tuesday in Ankara by Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a joint press briefing with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is on a state visit to the country.
President Erdogan said discussions to achieve the ambitious trade target had already begun, noting that current trade volume between both nations stands at about $2 billion. He explained that Türkiye exports aircraft, helicopters, machinery, iron and steel products, as well as chemicals to Nigeria, while Nigeria exports crude oil and agricultural products to Türkiye.
According to the Turkish leader, the establishment of a Joint Economy and Trade Committee between the two countries would provide a structured framework to expand Turkish investments in Nigeria and accelerate progress towards the $5 billion goal.
“Today, we conducted a comprehensive review of our relations with the esteemed President and his delegation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, education and defence industry,” Erdogan said. “We see significant potential, particularly in trade and investment, and we discussed concrete steps required to reach the $5 billion trade volume target.”
Erdogan also praised President Tinubu’s economic reforms, particularly in the energy sector, describing them as crucial to Nigeria’s ongoing economic restructuring. He expressed optimism that cooperation between the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and Nigerian counterparts would deliver positive outcomes.
