Presidency Reassures Nigerians After President Tinubu Briefly Loses Balance in Turkey

The Presidency, Tuesday, assured Nigerians that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, currently on a state visit to Turkey, is in great shape and doing fine as he continues to carry out his official duties in Turkey.

The clarification came on the heels of an incident in Ankara, capital of Turkey, when President Tinubu tripped momentarily during a reception parade held in his honour. The President, who was walking alongside his host, President Recep Erdogan, was up in a flash as he continued with the ceremony and assignments lined up for the day.

Allaying the fears of Nigerians, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said there was no cause for alarm as the President merely lost balance momentarily after he stepped on a metal object.

“The President stepped on a metal on the floor, which made him lose his balance,” Onanuga said.

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

Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, also reassured Nigerians that all was well with their President after the incident. He gave the reassurance in a post on his official X handle on Tuesday after the President tripped during a reception parade.

“President Tinubu in Great Shape as state visit proceeds smoothly,” the minister wrote on X, Tuesday evening.

“President Tinubu after a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with President of Turkey and other senior government officials from both countries,” Dare added.

President Tinubu is in Turkey as part of Nigeria’s ongoing diplomatic engagements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, particularly in trade, investment, defence cooperation and infrastructure development.

“The visit is aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation,” Onanuga had said in a statement on Sunday.

“It also reciprocates an earlier state visit to Nigeria by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from October 19 to 20, 2021.”

Indeed, the visit has already started yielding pleasant dividends as Turkey has committed itself to increasing its trade volume with Nigeria from $2billion to $5billion.

The agreement was signed by both countries at a ceremony on Tuesday.