Tinubu Meets Macron for Private Dinner at Élysée Palace in Paris

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, September 17, 2026, met with French President Emmanuel Macron for a private dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris, in another high-level engagement highlighting the longstanding diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and France. 

The meeting was disclosed on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, who shared photographs of the two leaders at the French presidential palace. The released images also showed Tinubu and Macron alongside France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron. 

According to Onanuga, the private dinner reflected the enduring relationship between Nigeria and France and the shared commitment of both countries to strengthening bilateral cooperation. President Tinubu also described the meeting as an opportunity to reaffirm the friendship between the two nations and their interest in building a mutually beneficial partnership. 

Tinubu thanked Macron for his hospitality and friendship, while details of the specific issues discussed during the private dinner were not publicly disclosed. Reports indicate that the meeting took place while Tinubu was in France as part of the second leg of his annual leave in Europe.