A spokesman to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has explained the reason the Nigerian leader stumbled in Turkey.
Onanuga, while addressing enquiries on Tuesday, said Tinubu lost balance in Turkey because he stepped on a metal object.
“The President stepped on a metal on the floor, which made him lose his balance,” Onanuga said.
The incident happened when the Nigerian leader was walking alongside his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Erdogan, in Ankara, capital of Turkey, on Tuesday.
Prior to the incident, Tinubu inspected a parade as part of a state reception.
A review of the video of the incident showed that the president went down after a camera man moved his tripod stand close to him.
But Onanuga said the President merely stepped on an object, resulting in a minor loss of balance.
“This is not a big deal, except for those who want to make mischief out of a fleeting incident. It was a mere stumble, thank God, not a fall,” he said.
Sources within the Presidency explained that the stumble was purely accidental and unrelated to the President’s health.
Tinubu’s aide on on social media, Dada Olusegun on Tuesday, said the President continued his engagements as scheduled after the incident.
Olusegun stated that Tinubu was part of a joint press conference with the Turkish leader immediately after a bilateral meeting.
Similarly, Tinubu’s aide on public communication, Sunday Dare, said the President was in good shape and fully engaged in official activities.
“President Tinubu, after a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara, proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with the President of Türkiye and other senior government officials from both countries,” Dare said.
“No injury was recorded, and the President went on to participate fully in the rest of the scheduled programme.”
Reacting to public speculation, the Presidency reportedly said there was “no cause for alarm,” stressing that Tinubu remains hale and hearty.
Tinubu is in Türkiye as part of Nigeria’s ongoing diplomatic engagements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, particularly in trade, investment, defence cooperation and infrastructure development.
“The visit is aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation,” Onanuga said in a statement on Sunday.
“It also reciprocates an earlier state visit to Nigeria by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from October 19 to 20, 2021.”
The visit will feature a business forum bringing together investors from both countries to explore areas of interest.