The meeting was hosted by the Nigerian president in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In a statement after the meeting, Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale quoted his principal as saying, “I really enjoyed your speech at the ceremony. I was delighted listening to you. We have lots of issues in common, and we need to work more closely together. It was a good celebration”.
President Bola Tinubu has concluded his visit to South Africa, meeting with newly inaugurated President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss strengthening economic and trade ties between the two regional powers.
Tinubu had attended Ramaphosa’s inauguration ceremony in Pretoria before the two leaders sat down for bilateral talks.
The two presidents pledged to work together on developing robust trade and economic strategies to address challenges facing their nations.
A video of the South African president purportedly snubbing Tinubu at the event had gone viral.
But the Nigerian presidency in the wake of the development, said the video was taken out of context.
The Senior Special Assistant to Tinubu on Digital Communications, Strategy, and New Media O’tega Ogra on his X handle said, “For the record: 1. That first row at today’s inauguration was reserved for South African kings/royalty. 2. The South African President wasn’t expected to start greeting dignitaries at the time of the video you shared and he was respectfully recalled to the podium by the inauguration compere (see video below). 3. Immediately after President Ramaphosa finished the anthem, he went ahead to greet the visiting presidents who were all seated in the second row (similar to the way visiting presidents were seated in the third row during Nigeria’s own inauguration on May 29, 2023.
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