President Bola Tinubu and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa have held a bilateral talk following the latter’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 said in a post on his X handle on Thursday.

The meeting was hosted by the Nigerian president.

Ramaphosa was sworn in on Wednesday after a coalition agreement between the African National Congress (ANC) and other parties.

Tinubu was among African leaders who attended Ramaphosa’s swearing-in. A video of the South African president purportedly snubbing Tinubu at the event had gone viral.

But the Nigerian presidency in the wake of the development, said the video was taken out of context.

The Senior Special Assistant to Tinubu on Digital Communications, Strategy, and New Media O’tega Ogra on his X handle said, “For the record: 1. That first row at today’s inauguration was reserved for South African kings/royalty. 2. The South African President wasn’t expected to start greeting dignitaries at the time of the video you shared and he was respectfully recalled to the podium by the inauguration compere (see video below). 3. Immediately after President Ramaphosa finished the anthem, he went ahead to greet the visiting presidents who were all seated in the second row (similar to the way visiting presidents were seated in the third row during Nigeria’s own inauguration on May 29, 2023…).