Tinubu on 3rd visit to Brazil in 9 months

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today depart Abuja, for a two-nation trip to Japan and Brazil, Daily Trust learnt yesterday. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said in a statement that while in Japan, President Tinubu will attend the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in the City of Yokohama from August 20 to 22. From there, he will proceed to Brazil, a country he has visited three times in the last nine months.

Daily Trust reports that there are whispers in some quarters over Tinubu’s alleged recent “obsession” with Brazil, akin to his numerous visits to France since he took over as president.

On his first leg of today’s visit starting with Japan, Tinubu will take part in a conference themed: “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa,” TICAD9, which will focus on Africa’s economic transformation and improvements in the business environment and institutions through private investment and innovation.

It will also promote a resilient and sustainable African society for human security, peace, and stability, he said.

The president, however, is leaving Abuja, six days before the Tokyo engagement, with the presidential aide saying that he would stop over in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before proceeding to Japan.

Part of the statement issued yesterday, said in addition to attending plenary sessions on themes linked to the conference, the president will hold bilateral meetings and meet the chief executive officers of some Japanese companies with investments in Nigeria.

Initiated in 1993 by the Japanese government and co-hosted by the United Nations (UNDP) the African Union Commission, and the World Bank, TICAD is a triennial conference held alternately in Japan and Africa. The last one took place in August, 2022, in Tunisia. The forum fosters high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partnership.