President Bola Tinubu will travel to the United Kingdom for a two-day state visit from 18 to 19 March 2026 after receiving an official invitation from King Charles III, in what aides described as the first such trip by a Nigerian leader in nearly four decades.
The visit was announced on Sunday in a statement posted on the official X account of the British royal family, confirming that Tinubu will be accompanied by his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, and formally received by the King and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
“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 post read. “The King and Queen will host the state visit at Windsor Castle.”
Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s special adviser on information and strategy, welcomed the announcement, describing it as a landmark diplomatic moment.
“First state visit of a Nigerian leader to the UK in 37 years confirmed,” he wrote, adding that Tinubu and the first lady would be hosted by the British monarch and his consort over the two-day programme.
The last Nigerian leader to undertake a state visit to the UK was Gen Ibrahim Babangida, the former military president, who was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1989. Babangida spent four days in Britain and later conferred Nigeria’s highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, on the Queen.
Earlier Nigerian leaders, including Gen Yakubu Gowon and President Shehu Shagari, also made state visits to the UK during Elizabeth II’s reign.
The BBC has previously described state visits as an instrument of soft-power diplomacy, blending royal ceremony with political messaging and high-level hospitality to strengthen strategic relationships.
Tinubu and King Charles, both of whom assumed office in May 2023, have met several times. The Nigerian leader held talks with the monarch in Dubai in November 2023 ahead of the Cop28 climate summit, calling the encounter a step towards deepening bilateral relations. In September 2024, Charles hosted Tinubu again at Buckingham Palace during a private meeting.
The King has long-standing personal ties to Nigeria, having visited the country four times before ascending the throne, as Prince of Wales, in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018. Camilla accompanied him during the 2018 trip.
Charles has also spoken publicly of his fondness for Nigerian Pidgin English and Afrobeats, while his charitable organisation, The King’s Trust International, launched operations in Nigeria in 2023 with programmes aimed at tackling youth unemployment.
