The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will officially inaugurate its booth on Thursday at the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Japan, one day to the end of the three day summit which has President Bola Tinubu in attendance.
The conference opened on Wednesday and the curtain is scheduled to fall on it on Friday.
Since the start of the summit, booths belonging to other countries have welcomed investors and visitors.
But that of Nigeria has been pictured empty, with some delegates deciding to man it.
The situation quickly drew criticism from Nigerians online, who lamented the country’s poor representation at such a high-profile gathering.
But the ministry of foreign affairs dismissed the concerns.
“Contrary to a tweet made by a participant at TICAD, the Nigerian Booth at #TICAD9 has not yet been opened,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The booth will be officially inaugurated on Thursday, 21st August 2025, after which it will become fully operational and serve the delegates of TICAD.”
