President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson, 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

Former presidential candidate, who is also a former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has attributed Nigeria’s perennial national grid collapse and worsening electricity crisis to persistent leadership failures.

Obi made the remarks in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, referencing the latest grid collapse.

He pointed out that the problem has been recurring, with multiple of collapse recorded in 2025, and now the crisis has returned in January 2026.

The former presidential candidate highlighted the long-standing underperformance of Nigeria’s power sector, describing it as unacceptable for Africa’s most populous nation.

Obi noted that for three consecutive years—from 2023 through 2025—Nigeria has been ranked as the country with the lowest access to electricity worldwide, leaving nearly 100 million citizens without reliable power.

What Obi is saying 

Obi expressed deep disappointment over Nigeria’s energy situation and emphasized the urgent need for competent leadership in the sector.

“In January 2025, we witnessed the first grid collapse of that year, which was followed by several other collapses. Now in January 2026, the national shame has commenced again with yesterday’s collapse,” he said.

“This power crisis is a direct result of continuous leadership failures. The power sector is critical and requires competent and committed leadership to thrive,” Obi added.

Obi urged Nigerians to prioritise leadership qualities such as competence, accountability, and empathy in future elections.

He stressed that the power sector is crucial for industrialisation, business growth, and improving the quality of life for citizens, and warned that anything less than strong leadership is unacceptable.

Backstory 

Nairametrics reported yesterday that Nigeria was plunged into darkness following the collapse of the national electricity grid, marking the first system failure recorded in 2026.

Data obtained from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) showed that power generation across the country dropped to 0 megawatts (MW) at about 1:00 pm, indicating a total shutdown of the grid.

The collapse triggered widespread blackouts in many parts of the country, with electricity distribution companies forced to shut down supply to customers as a result of the system failure.

What you should know 

The NISO says Friday’s nationwide power outage was caused by a system-wide disturbance from multiple 330kV transmission line trips and the disconnection of some grid-connected generating units.

NISO said preliminary findings from its operational assessment point to multiple failures on the high-voltage transmission network, which ultimately destabilised the entire system.

Nigeria’s national grid has experienced repeated partial and total collapses in recent years, raising concerns among industry stakeholders and electricity consumers.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the posting of four ambassador-designates out of the 68 confirmed by the Senate last December.

The approvals were conveyed in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dated January 22, 2024.

According to the statement, Ambassador Ayodele Oke has been posted as ambassador-designate to France, while Colonel Lateef Are has been posted as ambassador-designate to the United States of America.

Also confirmed by the President is the posting of Ambassador Amin Dalhatu, former ambassador to South Korea, as the high commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom.

Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman, former governor of Kebbi, is the ambassador-designate to Turkey, where the President is scheduled to begin a state visit next week.

In a memo to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Tinubu urged the ministry to notify the governments of the four countries about the ambassador-designates, in accordance with diplomatic procedures.