President Bola Tinubu will return to Abuja from the United Kingdom on Sunday.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday night titled, ‘President Tinubu returns to Abuja from an official trip to China after a stopover in London.’
Onanuga said Tinubu “will return to Abuja on Sunday, following his official visit to China and his short stay in the United Kingdom.”
The president, who departed Abuja for Beijing, China, on August 29, began his official visit on Tuesday, September 2, with a meeting with President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People.
Nigeria and China signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) during a bilateral meeting with President Jinping.
Among the MoU signed was the Cooperation Plan between Nigeria and China, which aimed to jointly promote the Belt and Road Initiative, cooperate in the peaceful application of nuclear energy, and strengthen cooperation on human resource development under the Global Development Initiative.
Others were the MoU on Media Exchange and Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding between China Media Group and the Nigerian Television Authority. Nigeria also signed an MoU with China Harbour Engineering Company to build the 68 km Lagos Green rail line, designed to run from the Lekki Free Zone to the Marina and connect with the Blue Line.
An MoU for the $1bn iron ore-to-steel project planned for Kogi State was also signed between Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited of Nigeria and Sinomach-He of China.
The following day, Tinubu led his delegation to another round of bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
On the evening of the same day, President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, hosted the Nigerian leader at the Welcoming Banquet and Cultural Gala Performance on the eve of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit.
Before attending the opening of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, President Tinubu visited two Chinese companies: Huawei and China Harbour Engineering Company.
At FOCAC, President Tinubu, in his capacity as chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, spoke on global peace, stressing multilateralism and cooperation as essential ingredients for international peace.
He concluded his visit to China with a meeting with representatives of Nigerians in the Diaspora Organisation, China chapter, during which he defended the reforms being implemented by his government in Nigeria. He also expressed hope that the reforms would lead the country to a destination of good roads, constant power, and good schools, like in China.
Thereafter, President Tinubu departed Beijing for London, where he discussed climate financing with King Charles III. China became Tinubu’s 24th foreign destination since he assumed office about 16 months ago.
So far, he has visited Equatorial Guinea, London, the United Kingdom (twice); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Novo, Benin Republic; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar.