AYV News, March 17, 2025
Former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma paid a visit to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock, Abuja, on Friday, March 14.
The meeting was part of a high-profile gathering that brought together several former and current West African leaders.
The visit was revealed by Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s special adviser on information and strategy, through a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Onanuga shared photos of the meeting, stating, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (right), with the Former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Friday.”
The event was attended by notable figures, including former Nigerian Heads of State Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan. Also present was Ghana’s former President Nana Akufo-Addo, while former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was represented by his ex-Transport Minister.
Ernest Bai Koroma, who led Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2018, has been residing in Nigeria since December 2023. His stay follows an agreement with the Sierra Leonean government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which facilitated his temporary relocation after he was implicated in an alleged coup plot. In January 2024, a Sierra Leonean court found him guilty of misprision of treason—a charge for failing to report a coup attempt. However, a deal brokered by ECOWAS allowed him to avoid a prison sentence in exchange for exile in Nigeria.
Since his arrival, Koroma has remained relatively low-profile, engaging in diplomatic and political discussions with regional leaders.
His latest meeting with President Tinubu and other prominent West African figures underscores his continued engagement in regional affairs despite his legal troubles in Sierra Leone.
The details of his discussion with President Tinubu remain undisclosed, but observers suggest it may have centered on regional stability, governance, and the role of former leaders in West African politics.
