File photo: Director-General of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-ErewaThe controversy generated in Nigeria over President Bola Tinubu’s brief stumble during his official visit to Türkiye has been dismissed as “silly” by Turkish officials, according to Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa. On ground here in Ankara, their officials were shocked to learn that it was an issue in Nigerian media/blogs,” she wrote. According to her, one of the Turkish officials described the attention given to the incident as “silly and mischievous,” stressing that the visit itself was being widely celebrated in Türkiye. A video of the moment, shared by Turkish digital news platform Nefes Gazetesi and later circulated on X, showed Tinubu walking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before briefly losing his balance. A business forum was also expected to be held on the sidelines of the visit to connect Nigerian and Turkish investors.

Source: Punch January 29, 2026 12:55 UTC