•Bayo Onanuga
The presidency has dismissed trending social media claims suggesting that Nigeria is poorly represented at the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan.
A viral video of an empty booth labelled “Nigeria” has sparked criticism of the country’s presence at the triennial summit, reports The PUNCH.
•Nigeria’s empty booth in Japan
But in a statement issued today titled ‘Nigeria’s participation at TICAD9: Focusing on strategic engagements, not trade expos’, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, clarified that Nigeria did not attend TICAD 9 to showcase at the trade exhibition.
According to Onanuga, the Nigerian delegation, led by President Bola Tinubu, is instead focusing on strategic bilateral and multilateral engagements designed to boost key sectors of the economy, including power, agriculture, and industry.
He stated, “The trending social media narrative about an empty booth labelled ‘NIGERIA’ at the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama, Japan, totally misrepresented our country’s mission and activities at the conference.
“While we understand the urge by many social media users to seek clicks with many incorrect posts, we also recognise that the author may have acted out of patriotic concern. But it is a concern inspired by ignorance about Nigeria’s mission at the triennial conference.
“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 targeted at driving optimum performance in key sectors of the economy, especially in power, industry and agriculture.”
He explained that Nigeria’s participation at TICAD 9 is centred on high-level meetings with global corporations and institutions.
He added that Tinubu was scheduled to meet with top executives of Toyota Corporation, CFAO, UN-Habitat, UNDP, and the International Finance Corporation.
Onanuga further disclosed that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is spearheading discussions on several Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded projects.
The discussions, he said, included the Lagos-Ogun Power Transmission System Improvement Project, a training partnership between JICA and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria and a $190 million Distributed Access Through Renewable Energy Scale-up Project.
Adelabu is also expected to hold negotiations with Japanese Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Toshiba and Hitachi.
He added that the Bank of Industry, led by its Managing Director, Supo Olusi, is holding talks with JICA and other multilateral institutions on its annual global fund syndication.
“The Nigerian official delegation working with Corporate Nigeria, represented by some of our leading business leaders, didn’t come to Yokohama and Tokyo to attend any Trade Expo, designed as an open forum for participating nations. 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,” he said.
He added, “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.”
Onanuga stressed that Nigeria is “fully and well represented” at TICAD 9, warning against sensational social media reports that fail to capture the depth of the country’s engagements.
He stated, “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.”
