RismadarVoice Reporters
January 27, 2026
President Bola Tinubu was on Tuesday received with full diplomatic and military honours at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, marking the commencement of his high-level state visit to the Republic of Türkiye.
The reception, which began at about 5:00p.m. local time, featured the simultaneous rendition of the national anthems of Nigeria and Türkiye, followed by a ceremonial 21-gun salute.
President Tinubu, accompanied by his host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, proceeded to inspect a guard of honour mounted by Turkish military personnel.
After the ceremonial formalities, both leaders retired into a closed-door bilateral meeting, during which discussions on issues of strategic national importance were expected to take place.
The visit marks President Tinubu’s first official trip to the European nation and comes as a reciprocal engagement following President Erdoğan’s visit to Nigeria in October 2021 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Earlier, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that the visit would focus on expanding cooperation between both countries in key sectors, including security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation.
According to Onanuga, Nigeria and Türkiye are also expected to hold strategic political and diplomatic discussions; centred on shared interests in finance, communication, trade, and investment.
Trade relations between both countries stood at $877.8 million in 2024, according to figures from the International Trade Centre.
Onanuga noted that the current visit is aimed at significantly strengthening bilateral engagement, particularly in the area of security and defence, where Turkish expertise has been identified as critical to Nigeria’s strategic priorities.
The visit’s agenda includes meetings between senior officials of both nations, the signing of memoranda of understanding in areas such as scientific research, energy, technical cooperation, media and communications, military collaboration, and protocol, among others.
A business forum is also scheduled to bring together investors from Nigeria and Türkiye in exploring opportunities of mutual benefit.
