President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday momentarily stumbled during a ceremonial reception held in his honour at the parade ground in Türkiye.
The incident occurred as the President joined the guard of honour during the march-past, briefly drawing attention before activities continued without interruption.
A video shared on X by Turkish digital news outlet, Nefes Gazetesi, captured the moment Tinubu was walking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when he stumbled and went down.
He was immediately assisted by security personnel as the programme proceeded.
Tuesday’s reception began around 5:00 pm local time with the rendition of the national anthems of Nigeria and Türkiye, followed by a 21-gun salute in honour of the visiting President.
After the ceremonial formalities, both leaders retired to a closed-door bilateral meeting where discussions on strategic and diplomatic matters were expected to take place.
This marks Tinubu’s first official visit to the European nation and comes as a reciprocal gesture following President Erdoğan’s visit to Nigeria in October 2021 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The visit is aimed at strengthening existing diplomatic ties between Nigeria and Türkiye, while expanding cooperation in key sectors of mutual interest.
According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the visit will feature high-level political and diplomatic engagements, as well as the signing of memoranda of understanding covering areas such as scientific research, energy, technical cooperation, media and communications, military collaboration, and protocol.
A Nigeria–Türkiye business forum is also scheduled on the sidelines of the visit to link investors from both countries and promote economic partnerships.
Senior government officials who received the President included the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; and the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd).
Watch the video:
