This information was made known by the presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
The Nigerian president made for Abu Dhabi, to take part in the Sustainability Week, a forum intended to discuss cooperation on energy, climate change, and other similar issues.
He was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Finance Wale Edun, and the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
Similarly, the UAE president was accompanied by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; and H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
According to Onanuga, the UAE president openly appreciated Bola Tinubu for coming to visit the UAE on his invitation and promised to work towards strengthening the relationship between both nations, as reported by ChannelsTV.
In response, the Nigerian president noted that Nigeria is ripe for investment, given the economic reforms he has implemented since he assumed office.
“President Tinubu said his government’s economic reforms are yielding fruits and called on the UAE to partner with Nigeria to develop the economy,” Onanuga stated.
Tinubu’s prior visit to the UAE
Last year, the Nigerian president visited the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to iron out a visa issue.
The prohibition, which affected a few other African countries, was implemented in October 2022.
Despite the legitimacy of the development at the time, Nigerians were skeptical of accepting it as truth, given the fact, that a similar report made news rounds in September 2023, when it was believed that the UAE had lifted the visa ban following a diplomatic meeting between both presidents.
More than anything else, Nigerians were angry over the astronomical cost of the visa application procedure.
