President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will later this month embark on a historic State Visit to the United Kingdom at the invitation of King Charles III.
Tinubu, accompanied by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, is scheduled to be received by King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, west of London, from March 18 to 19, 2026.
The British Royal Family confirmed the visit in a statement posted on its official X account on Sunday.
“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty The King to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from Wednesday, 18th March to Thursday, 19th March 2026. The King and Queen will host the State Visit at Windsor Castle,” the statement read.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga also confirmed the development, describing it as a landmark moment in Nigeria–UK relations.
“First state visit of a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years confirmed. President Tinubu and First Lady Remi Tinubu to be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla from 18th March to 19th March 2026,” he wrote on X.
The visit comes after London and Abuja concluded a strategic partnership in November 2024 aimed at strengthening cooperation in economic, immigration, and security matters.
Tinubu’s trip will mark the first time a Nigerian leader will be received in the United Kingdom with full state honours since 1989, when then military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Babangida’s four-day visit included a stay at a royal residence and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.
Only two other Nigerian leaders have undertaken formal State Visits to the UK: General Yakubu Gowon in June 1973 and President Shehu Shagari in 1981.
Although several Nigerian presidents have travelled to the UK since 1989, those trips were classified as private, working, or official visits, which do not carry the ceremonial status of a State Visit. Leaders such as Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Muhammadu Buhari visited under such arrangements. Buhari, for instance, attended King Charles III’s coronation in 2023 in a non-state capacity.
Since assuming office in May 2023, President Tinubu has met King Charles III twice. Their first meeting took place in December 2023 on the sidelines of the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. They met again privately in September 2024 at Buckingham Palace, where discussions focused on climate change and global security.
Tinubu has undertaken more than 10 foreign trips since his inauguration, spanning Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. While many were working visits or summit attendances, several have been classified as state or official visits involving formal invitations and ceremonial protocols.
Among the notable trips were his state visit to Türkiye in January 2026, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and signed nine agreements covering defence, energy, and trade; a state visit to Brazil in August 2025 at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; and an official state visit to China in September 2024 during the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation.
Other official engagements included visits to Equatorial Guinea in August 2024 for talks on maritime security and gas cooperation, the Netherlands in April 2024 for the Nigerian-Dutch Business and Investment Forum, Qatar in March 2024 at the invitation of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Benin Republic in August 2023 as a special guest at its 63rd Independence Anniversary.
