President Bola Tinubu held bilateral talks with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, following Ramaphosa’s swearing-in ceremony.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu receives South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for diplomatic, economic, and bilateral talks after a successful presidential inauguration ceremony,” presidential aide Olusegun Dada stated on his X handle on Thursday.

The meeting, hosted by President Tinubu in Johannesburg, focused on strengthening ties between the two nations. Tinubu expressed his admiration for Ramaphosa’s inaugural speech, noting, “I really enjoyed your speech at the ceremony. We have lots of issues in common, and we need to work more closely together. It was a good celebration.”

Ramaphosa, in turn, thanked Tinubu for attending the inauguration, saying, “Thank you so much for coming for the inauguration. I was very happy to see my brother at the ceremony.”

Ramaphosa was sworn in on Wednesday following a coalition agreement between the African National Congress (ANC) and other parties. Tinubu was among the African leaders who attended the ceremony.

A video that purportedly showed Ramaphosa snubbing Tinubu went viral, but the Nigerian presidency clarified that the video was taken out of context. The Senior Special Assistant to Tinubu on Digital Communications, Strategy, and New Media, O’tega Ogra, explained on his X handle that the first row at the inauguration was reserved for South African royalty, and Ramaphosa greeted visiting presidents, including Tinubu, after completing the anthem.