After a protracted refusal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally agreed to meeting with the special envoy of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The President initially refusaled to meet with the South African delegation due to the growing concerns over the persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa.
The delegation from South Africa, led by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, which arrived in Abuja on Friday, 24 July 2026, had been left unattended to at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Reliable diplomatic sources have revealed however that due to back-channel moves by the South African government which include calls by Ramaphosa over the weekend, President Tinubu has decided to meet with the delegation.
The outcome of the meeting which was schedule to hold on Monday is yet to be revealed to the public.
Among those who took part in the meeting are representatives from both sides, with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, playing a very important role in the absence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is currently in Addis Ababa.
