President Bola Tinubu will pay a state visit to the United Kingdom in March, marking Nigeria’s first state visit to the UK in 37 years.
The British Royal Family disclosed this in a statement published on its official X account late Saturday.
According to the statement, President Tinubu and the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla from Wednesday, March 18, to Thursday, March 19.
The visit will be hosted 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 royal family said.
“The King and Queen will host the State Visit at Windsor Castle.”
State visits to the United Kingdom are formal diplomatic engagements that involve official ceremonies and meetings between leaders.
Such visits usually include a guard of honour, a state banquet and bilateral discussions.
The last Nigerian state visit to the UK took place in 1989, when former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida visited and met with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Earlier visits were recorded in 1973 under General Yakubu Gowon and in 1981 during the presidency of Shehu Shagari.
Although this will be Tinubu’s first state visit to the UK since assuming office in 2023, he has previously met King Charles.
He met the monarch in November 2023 ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai and was also received at Buckingham Palace in September 2024.
Details of the agenda for the March visit have not been released.
State visits typically involve discussions on political, economic and security cooperation alongside ceremonial activities.
Nigeria and the United Kingdom maintain diplomatic relations covering trade, security, education, energy and climate issues.
Trade between both countries was valued at over £8 billion as of October 2025.
The two countries also cooperate on counter-terrorism and regional security.
The planned UK visit follows other diplomatic engagements by Tinubu.
In February, he paid a state visit to Turkey, where he held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Nigeria is Turkey’s largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 50 Turkish companies operating in Nigeria and investments exceeding $400 million.
During the Turkey visit, Nigeria and Turkey signed nine agreements covering defence, energy, security, research and other areas.
