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The presidency has reacted to claims that the Nigerian delegation is not actively engaging at the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD9).
This follows social media posts showing an empty and unmanned booth labelled ‘NIGERIA’ at the ongoing conference.
However, a statement made available to Naija News on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the trending narrative about the empty booth is a total misrepresentation of Nigeria’s mission and activities at the conference.
He said many people, particularly on social media, have been sharing the trending picture out of ignorance.
According to Onanuga, while the original author may have acted out of patriotic concern, the concern was born out of ignorance about Nigeria’s mission at the triennial conference.
The statement noted that the Nigerian delegation to the summit, led by President Bola Tinubu, is laser-focused on its core objectives of achieving tangible outcomes from the scheduled lineup of bilateral and multilateral engagements, which are targeted at driving optimum performance in key sectors of the economy, especially in power, industry, and agriculture.
It added that the Nigerian official delegation, working with Corporate Nigeria and represented by some of the leading business leaders, didn’t come to Yokohama and Tokyo to attend the Trade Expo, which was designed as an open forum for participating nations.
The Core Business In Japan
The presidential media aide added that the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) is scheduled to host an investment forum on Thursday, August 21, 2025
The Nigerian ministers are busy with bilateral sideline discussions. At the same time, President Tinubu will lead meetings with the executives of Toyota Corporation, CFAO, UN-Habitat, UNDP, and the International Finance Corporation. The delegation’s schedule does not include participation in an open forum trade exhibition.
Specifically, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is leading the pre-activation meeting to execute several power projects in Nigeria that are being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). One of the projects is the Lagos-Ogun Power Transmission System Improvement, which is designed to improve the wheeling capacity and grid stability and enable the connection of industrial customers on the corridor. There is also the partnership between the National Power Training Institute (NAPTIN) and JICA to enhance Vocational Training Delivery for the power sector. The third power project is the Distributed Access Through Renewable Energy Scale-up, for which $190 million has been provided.
The Minister of Power is scheduled to negotiate with notable Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as TOSHIBA and HITACHI.
The Bank of Industry, led by its Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dr. Supo Olusi, is also in high-level discussions with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other participating multilateral institutions for its annual global fund syndication.
The statement concluded that “Social media posts are often sensational and do not tell complete stories, just as the trending video does not capture Nigeria’s participation at TICAD 9. Our country is fully and well represented and part of the essential conversations and negotiations that are going on at TICAD9.”
The post TICAD 9: Nigeria Is Busy With Strategic Engagements, Not Trade Expos – Presidency Replies Critics appeared first on Naija News.
