Key Highlights
- President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Friday, March 20, 2026.
- The visit to the United Kingdom from March 18-19, 2026, was the first formal state visit by a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years.
- A £746 million financing agreement was signed involving UK Export Finance, the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the Federal Ministry of Finance.
- A new agreement was also signed to facilitate the return of failed Nigerian asylum seekers, visa overstayers, and convicted offenders.
- King Charles III praised the UK-Nigeria relationship as a "partnership of equals."
President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu touched down in Nigeria on Friday after a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom. Video footage shared on X by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, captured the moment the presidential aircraft touched down.
Senior government officials, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, were on hand to receive the presidential couple. Dare stated, “A President arrives home. Excitement as President Tinubu returns to Nigeria after a resoundingly successful state visit to the UK.”
The visit, which took place on March 18-19, 2026, marked the first formal state visit by a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years, with the previous one occurring in 1989.
Tinubu and the First Lady departed Abuja and arrived at London Stansted Airport on Tuesday. King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted them the following day at Windsor Castle, where they received a ceremonial welcome, including an honour guard and carriage procession.
The Nigerian delegation, led by the president, also attended a state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Wednesday. At the banquet, Tinubu recounted the support and protection he received in the United Kingdom during Nigeria’s military dictatorship, while reaffirming the enduring ties between the two nations.
King Charles praised the UK-Nigeria relationship as a "partnership of equals," highlighting the deep cultural, commercial, and people-to-people ties between the two nations. Tinubu on Thursday met with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a high-level bilateral engagement aimed at strengthening ties between Nigeria and Britain.
Among other memoranda of understanding signed was a £746 million financing agreement involving UK Export Finance, the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the Federal Ministry of Finance. A new agreement was also signed with the United Kingdom to facilitate the return of failed Nigerian asylum seekers, visa overstayers, and convicted offenders, in a move aimed at strengthening migration control and bilateral cooperation.
