Tinubu describes meeting with Macron as productive

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described his private working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris as productive, emphasizing that both leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation between Nigeria and France for mutual prosperity and global stability.

In a post on his official X handle on Wednesday, Tinubu said, “Had a productive lunch with President Emmanuel Macron today at the Élysée Palace.

We reviewed key areas of cooperation between Nigeria and France and agreed to deepen our partnership for mutual prosperity and global stability.”

The meeting took place during Tinubu’s 10-day working vacation, which began on September 4. According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President is spending the period between France and the United Kingdom as part of his 2025 annual leave before returning to Nigeria.

Tinubu’s vacation follows his recent two-week official trip to Japan and Brazil. In Japan, he attended the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama from August 20 to 22 and met with top executives of Japanese companies investing in Nigeria. He later traveled to Brazil’s capital, Brasília, on a state visit at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

This marks Tinubu’s second trip to France in six months, following a short working visit in April during which he reviewed his administration’s mid-term performance and progress on key policies.

At the time, the Presidency dismissed social media speculation suggesting the trip was for medical reasons.