President Bola Tinubu stumbled briefly on Tuesday during a ceremonial march-past during his reception at Türkiye’s parade ground.
The incident occurred as the president entered the guard of honor, generating brief attention before the event resumed without interruption.
In a video shared on X by Turkish internet news portal Nefes Gazetesi, Tinubu is shown strolling beside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before stumbling to the ground.
Howevrer, the Secret Service assisted him swiftly.
Tuesday’s greeting began about 5:00 p.m. local time with the simultaneous playing of both countries’ national anthems and a ceremonial 21-gun salute.
Following the ceremonial formalities, both leaders entered a closed-door bilateral meeting where discussions on critical national issues were anticipated to take place.
Tinubu’s first official journey to the European nation follows Erdoğan’s October 2021 visit to Nigeria under previous President Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu’s visit seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s long-standing friendly relations with Turkey while also exploring new areas of cooperation to improve the two nations’ mutually beneficial alliance.
Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, said in a statement on Sunday that both countries will hold strategic political and diplomatic conversations on common values in finance, communication, trade, and investment during their visit.
According to Onanuga, the schedule will include discussions with high-ranking officials from both countries as well as the signing of memoranda of understanding in areas such as scientific research, energy, technological cooperation, media and communications, military cooperation, and etiquette.
A business roundtable is set to be hosted on the margins of the visit to link Nigerian and Turkish investors and open up chances for mutual economic growth.
Senior Nigerian officials who met with the president at his hotel included Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development; and General Christopher Musa (retd), Minister of Defense.
