President Bola Tinubu has described his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron as “productive,” highlighting renewed commitments to strengthen ties between Nigeria and France.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday, Tinubu said the two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation and agreed to deepen their partnership.
“Had a productive lunch with President Emmanuel Macron. We reviewed key areas of cooperation between Nigeria and France and agreed to deepen our partnership for mutual prosperity and global stability,” Tinubu wrote.
The meeting took place during Tinubu’s ongoing 10-day vacation, which began on September 4. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President is spending his annual leave between France and the United Kingdom before returning to Nigeria.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja today, September 4, to commence a working vacation in Europe, as part of his 2025 annual leave. The vacation will last 10 working days,” Onanuga said in the statement.
Tinubu embarked on the trip shortly after returning from a two-week official visit to Japan and Brazil. In Japan, he attended the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama, held bilateral talks, and met with Japanese business leaders. He later proceeded to Brazil on a state visit at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
This marks Tinubu’s second visit to France in six months, following a short working trip in April 2025. At the time, the Presidency said the visit was to appraise his administration’s mid-term performance, a decision that drew criticism from the opposition. Officials also dismissed rumours that the President was in France for medical treatment.
