Tinubu in closed-door meeting with Madagascar president in Abuja

The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, is presently having confidential discussions with his visiting counterpart from Madagascar, Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The guest President was welcomed at the State House around 2:57 p.m. with full honors, whereupon a guard of honor was mounted by the Presidential Brigade of Guards, along with traditional bagpipe players.

Welcomed by a team headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, he was escorted to the President’s offices, where the two Presidents are now having closed-door discussions.

The high-level discussions mark the first-ever visit by President Randrianirina to Nigeria since taking office in October 2025 after the exit of his predecessor, President Andry Rajoelina, from power.

This is the first-ever visit to Nigeria by the Magalasy President as direct contacts between presidents of both countries usually take place on neutral grounds.

Tinubu’s visit takes place following a short meeting that occurred recently between him and Randrianirina on the fringes of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, held in May.

However, past meetings between succeeding heads of state in the two countries have been mostly limited to multinational summits held outside the borders of both nations.

In particular, the meeting between the current president of Madagascar and President Tinubu follows his recent visits to other African partners like Gabon where he also indicated the intention of Madagascar to seek partnership within the BRICS countries.

While the topics covered in the discussions are yet to be determined at the time of writing this report, Central Post Nigeria learns that the talks will focus on issues of mutual concern such as regional security, agricultural partnerships, and the impact of climate change that is currently disrupting Southern Madagascar.