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TICAD9: Outrage as Nigeria’s Exhibition Booth Left Unmanned
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite a large entourage, including President Bola Tinubu, attending the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), Nigeria’s exhibition booth was left unmanned on Wednesday.
The exhibition booth, which is one of the ways through which countries around the world converse and speak with potential businesses and investors, was without any attendant at the event compared with other countries.
A Nigerian, Mr Idris Ayodeji Bello, attending the event as a private citizen, while writing on X (formerly X), said he had to step in to answer questions that the Nigerian public sector teams should be handling.
Business Post reports that President Tinubu, who arrived in Japan on Tuesday, is expected to hold bilateral meetings with world leaders and engage with top Japanese chief executives who have significant investments in Nigeria.
The three-day summit, scheduled for August 20–22 at the Pacifico Yokohama, is bringing together African leaders, development partners, and global stakeholders to discuss strategies for Africa’s economic transformation.
However, one of the first points of contact at such summits is the exhibition, and according to Mr Bello, Nigeria had the only unsupervised booth, so he had to step in as a makeshift envoy to answer questions about the country’s investment scene.
“I hate to show negative things about Nigeria but it is sad that Nigeria is the only unmanned booth at TICAD9 in Japan. Upon all the folks who probably got estacode for coming to Japan
“Only God knows how many Japanese folks have asked me about the unmanned booth seeing my dressing.
“So ashamed I have now designated myself as Honorary Consul and taken over the booth to engage visitors,” he wrote on X, accompanied by photos of the empty booths.
Soon after, Dr Ola Brown, a Nigerian investor and founder of Health Cap Africa, joined Mr Bello to answer the questions to curious attendees at the exhibition.
“Had an interesting time manning the Nigeria booth today with Idris.
“Unfortunately, the booth was left unstaffed by the Nigerian public sector team, but we still had engaging conversations with academics, private business owners, and NGOs who asked great questions,” she wrote in X, via her @NaijaFlyingDr handle.
Responding to a post about why the booth was unmanned, the investor answered, “I am not sure. But even Cape Verde whose entire GDP is less than Zenith Bank’s revenue had a fully staffed and decorated booth. Lesotho was fully staffed with a small economy than Oshogbo.”
Many Nigerians have taken to the platform to express displeasure at the lack of Nigerian public sector officials at the exhibition.
According to @DaMinister14, “It’s one thing for our anyhowness to be local – at least we will know it’s in-house. However, taking it to the global stage is embarrassingly sad. I mean I know I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but I just can’t help it. Anyhowness has now become a feature instead of a bug.”
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria is using (TICAD9) as a springboard to expand trade with Japan, push for reforms in the global financial system, and consolidate its leadership role in Africa.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit in Tokyo, Mr Tuggar stressed that Nigeria’s participation, led by President Tinubu, signals its determination to forge deeper ties with Japan while also using the multilateral platform to advocate for Africa’s interests.
Nigeria exports large volumes of hydrocarbons to Japan, with bilateral trade currently estimated at $1 billion.
Beyond trade, Mr Tuggar said Nigeria was using the TICAD9 forum to push its long-standing diplomatic objectives, including permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Mr Tuggar said central to Nigeria’s agenda, is reform of the global financial architecture to ensure African economies can thrive.
“Unless the system is reformed to address issues like debt restructuring and rescheduling, Africa will remain disadvantaged. Nigeria, as Africa’s leading economy, must champion this cause,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday, August 16, 2026, declared the incumbent Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, winner of the 2026 governorship election held a day earlier.
Mr Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, defeated his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Bola Oyebamiji, to secure a second term in office.
The governor polled 511,067 votes, while Mr Oyebamiji scored 444,815 votes, giving Mr Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Mr Najeem Folasayo Salaam, came a distant third with 17,180 votes.
Mr Salaam had entered the election as one of the candidates expected to potentially emerge as a third force, particularly following the backing he received from former Osun Governor and former Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola.
However, that expectation did not translate into the numbers needed to seriously challenge the two leading candidates.
Mr Adeleke’s victory means he becomes only the third governor in Osun State’s history to win a second term through an election.
He joins Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Mr Aregbesola in the state’s political history, although Mr Oyinlola’s tenure was later cut short following a court decision that nullified his election over irregularities.
Mr Aregbesola subsequently succeeded Oyinlola and went on to secure a second term, completing eight years in office.
Mr Adeleke’s re-election comes after a fiercely contested campaign marked by intense competition and reported violence from competing parties.
Despite those challenges, the governor consolidated his support across the state and secured a decisive victory over the APC candidate, extending his administration for another four years in the southwest states.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
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