Olushola Omogbehin
President Bola Tinubu with his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu landed at Stansted Airport on Tuesday afternoon to commence the historic state visit to the United Kingdom.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, the presidential aircraft arrived at about 3:00 p.m. local time.
Sunday Dare shared though his X platform thus: “Timeline: 15:23PM. President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu touch down at Stansted airport, United Kingdom as Historic Visit begins.”
Tinubu’s visit is the first Nigerian state visit to the UK since 1989 and the first time a Nigerian leader will be hosted at Windsor Castle.
Other Nigerian state visits to the UK occurred in 1973 and 1981 under the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Coming a day after Maiduguri was hit with multiple blasts with many lives lost, Tinubu will participate in high-level engagements in London, including bilateral talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, where both countries are expected to discuss key agreements across multiple sectors.
Top Nigerian leaders in Tinubu’s entourage are the Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed; and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun among others.
Nigeria is part of the Commonwealth, while Britain is home to a massive Nigerian diaspora.
