The Presidency has dismissed as misleading the trending social media narrative about an empty booth marked “Nigeria” at the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Japan, insisting that Nigeria’s participation at the summit is focused on high-level strategic engagements rather than trade expos.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the video that went viral was not reflective of the country’s mission at the triennial conference.
“While we understand the urge by many social media users to seek clicks with incorrect posts, we also recognise that some of these concerns may have been borne out of patriotic sentiment. But it is a concern inspired by ignorance about Nigeria’s mission at TICAD,” the statement read.
Onanuga stressed that the Nigerian delegation led by President Bola Tinubu is “laser-focused on achieving tangible outcomes” from bilateral and multilateral engagements in priority sectors such as power, industry, and agriculture.
He explained that the Nigerian team, working alongside leading figures in Corporate Nigeria, did not travel to Japan for an open trade fair but to secure concrete investments and partnerships that would drive national development.
Highlighting the delegation’s activities, the statement revealed that the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) will host an investment forum on Thursday, August 21, while ministers and senior officials are engaged in sideline discussions.
President Tinubu himself is scheduled to meet with global corporate leaders and institutions, including Toyota Corporation, CFAO, UN-Habitat, UNDP, and the International Finance Corporation.
The statement particularly pointed to the Ministry of Power’s ongoing negotiations with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on several projects, including the Lagos–Ogun Power Transmission System Improvement designed to boost grid stability and industrial connectivity; a partnership between the National Power Training Institute (NAPTIN) and JICA to enhance vocational training in the sector; and a $190 million Distributed Access Through Renewable Energy Scale-up project.
In addition, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, will engage with top Japanese Original Equipment Manufacturers such as Toshiba and Hitachi.
The Bank of Industry, under Dr. Supo Olusi, is also pursuing annual global fund syndication talks with JICA and other multilateral institutions.
Onanuga dismissed the viral narrative as sensational and incomplete, insisting that Nigeria is fully represented and participating in “the essential conversations and negotiations that matter most” at TICAD 9.
“Our country is not at TICAD for showmanship but for substance. The empty booth tells no story of Nigeria’s active, high-level engagements, which are geared toward tangible results for our people,” he added.
