Bola Tinubu: Nigeria president 'in great shape' after falling at Turkey

Video clips of the incident, external are being shared on social media.

A spokesman for the president, Bayo Onanuga, later said that Tinubu had stepped on a metal object “on the floor, which made him lose his balance”.

“This is not a big deal, except for those who want to make mischief out of a fleeting incident. It was a mere stumble, thank God, not a fall,” he added.

The last time the president fell over in public, in June 2024, he made a joke about it, saying people thought he was doing a popular dance move.

At that time the incident was described as a “mild misstep” by an aide, and there was also a lot of sympathy for Tinubu, including from leading opposition politician Atiku Abubakar, who called it an “unfortunate incident”.

Another politician, Shehu Sani, said that it showed the president was a human being and no different to anyone else.

In an apparent move to allay concerns on Tuesday afternoon, in an all capital letters headline, Dare said on X, external: “President Tinubu in great shape as state visit proceeds smoothly.

“After a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara [he] proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with President of Turkey and other senior government officials from both countries.”

He did not give further details.

Tinubu’s visit to Turkey was “aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations”, the president’s office said in a statement before he left for Ankara on Monday.

After the two presidents met, Turkey announced new economic, trade and defence cooperation agreements with Nigeria.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Tinubu, Erdogan said both countries had reaffirmed a target of increasing total bilateral trade to $5bn (£3.6bn).

The two countries also exchanged agreements on defence cooperation. Turkey pledged support for Nigeria’s fight against militants, as well as deeper collaboration in military training and intelligence sharing.

“Nigeria remains open for serious partnership. Open to trade without barriers. Open to ideas, skills, and investment that create value and shared prosperity,” Tinubu posted on X later, external.

Tinubu took office in 2023 after beating Abubakar in a presidential election.

Additional reporting by Makuochi Okafor