King Charles III to host Tinubu in March
Britain’s monarch King Charles III will play host to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu when the African leader makes a state visit to Britain on March 18-19, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Saturday. President Tinubu and his wife, Olumeri Tinubu, will be received at Windsor Castle, west of London, by Charles and Queen Camilla, […]
Tinubu-and-King-Charles-III
Britain’s monarch King Charles III will play host to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu when the African leader makes a state visit to Britain on March 18-19, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Saturday.
President Tinubu and his wife, Olumeri Tinubu, will be received at Windsor Castle, west of London, by Charles and Queen Camilla, the palace said.
A statement issued by the UK Mission in Nigeria on Sunday, posted on its official X handle, said President Tinubu has accepted the state visit invitation to the United Kingdom (UK) extended to him by King Charles of England.
“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.
“This historic visit provides an opportunity to further strengthen the enduring partnership between our two nations.
“The King and Queen will host the State Visit at Windsor Castle,” the statement added
London and Abuja concluded a strategic partnership in November 2024 to strengthen their cooperation on economic, immigration, and security matters.
Nigeria has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency for several years in the northeast and heavily armed criminal gangs in the northwest and centre of the country.
On Friday, the Nigerian Ministry of Defence said the two countries intended to strengthen their defence cooperation following a week marked by the massacre of more than 160 people in central Kwara State, which President Tinubu attributed to jihadists.
The two capitals had also signed an economic cooperation agreement in early 2024, under the previous British Conservative government.
A former British colony and member of the Commonwealth, Nigeria was the first African state visited by the British Foreign Secretary (then David Lammy), shortly after the Labour government came to power in July 2024.
Nigeria, the most populous country on the continent with a population of 230 million and one of Africa’s largest economies, is also a major recipient of development aid from the UK, home to a large Nigerian diaspora.
Trade between the two countries reached £8.1 billion ($11 billion) in the year to September 2025, an 11.4 per cent year-on-year increase, according to data from the UK Department for Business.
British exports to Nigeria rose 14.2 per cent to £5.7 billion.
The trip will be the first formal state visit by a Nigerian president to Britain in 37 years, although President Tinubu was received by the Prince of Wales in September 2024.
Charles visited Nigeria four times when he was Prince of Wales, before the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022.
This invitation is coming a few days after a Nigerian court ordered the British government to pay £420 million to the families of miners killed in 1949 by the colonial authorities, after they protested their working conditions and unpaid wages by occupying the mine where they were employed.
Focus should be on emerging technologies – diplomat
Veteran diplomat Ambassador Bode Adekeye noted that the visit will “reinforce the existing cordial relations” between the two Commonwealth nations.
While the invitation comes from the King, who serves as the ceremonial Head of State, Adekeye emphasised that the trip provides a vital platform for high-level engagement beyond protocol.
Highlighting a shift in Nigeria’s diplomatic focus, Adekeye suggested that while traditional trade remains essential, the administration must prioritise “emerging technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence” over traditional technology transfers.
He observed that as the UK seeks to diversify its own global relations—noting the Prime Minister’s recent engagements in China—Nigeria must similarly recalibrate its traditional ties to meet modern economic demands.