Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is current chair of the West African bloc ECOWAS
AFP

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday met his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg, South Africa, for a private meeting, during which they talked about the common issues shared by both countries.

Before the closed-door meeting started, Ramaphosa thanked Tinubu for attending his inauguration for a second term in office.

"Thank you so much for coming for the inauguration. I was very happy to see my brother at the ceremony," he said, as per the official State House website.

In return, Tinubu said that Ramaphosa's speech captured most of the challenges that were faced by African countries, stressing on the need for all African leaders to collaborate to provide better solutions to their respective citizens.

"I really enjoyed your speech at the ceremony. I was delighted listening to you. We have lots of issues in common, and we need to work more closely together. It was a good celebration," Tinubu said.

South Africa witnessed elections last month, following which the African National Congress (ANC) had to form alliances with other political parties as the latter individually couldn't secure majority votes for the first time since the 1994 election that ended apartheid.

ANC leader Ramaphosa was re-elected as president by parliament last week. His party gained support from its biggest rival Democratic Alliance along with two smaller parties: the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party and the right-wing Patriotic Alliance.

The ANC said earlier this week that South Africa's new government included five parties so far, adding that there were ongoing discussions with additional parties.

Tinubu alongside his entourage arrived in South Africa in two private jets on Tuesday to attend Ramaphosa's inauguration. The Nigerian president reached South Africa just a day after Labour Party's leader Peter Obi said the federal government should avoid purchasing a new jet.

The presidency responded to Obi's posts on social media, calling them insensitive and wondering if he wanted to risk Tinubu's life by flying in faulty aircraft.

Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said that this was the basic thing any sane government would do for their president, noting that the country can't play with Tinubu's welfare.