Nigeria President Bola Tinubu ‘in great shape’ after falling over at Turkey reception

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is “in great shape” despite falling over at a reception ceremony in Turkey, one of his aides has said.

Tinubu, 73, was being welcomed by Turkish counterpart at an official ceremony in the capital, Ankara, when he stumbled.

After walking past a line of soldiers and dignitaries Tinubu can be seen on the official video on the Turkish president’s X account moving to his right when he stumbles and falls. The film then cuts to an aerial shot as people are seen helping the president and 45 seconds later Tinubu and Recep Tayyip Erdogan were filmed next to each other.

Tinubu appeared unhurt and aide Sunday Dare said he was then able to continue with a bilateral meeting.

Video clips of the incident are being shared on social media.

The last time the president fell over in public, in June 2024, he made a joke about it, saying people thought he was doing a popular dance move.

At that time the incident was described as a “mild misstep” by an aide, and there was also a lot of sympathy for Tinubu, including from leading opposition politician Atiku Abubakar, who called it an “unfortunate incident”.

Another politician, Shehu Sani, said that it showed the president was a human being and no different to anyone else.

Tinubu’s visit to Turkey “is aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations”, the president’s office has said in a statement.

In an apparent move to allay concerns, in an all capital letters headline, Dare said on X on Tuesday afternoon: “President Tinubu in great shape as state visit proceeds smoothly.

“After a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara [he] proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with President of Turkey and other senior government officials from both countries.”

He did not give further details.

Tinubu took office in 2023 after winning elections.