President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday departed Abuja for a two-nation official visit to Japan and Brazil, with a brief stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as part of renewed diplomatic and economic engagement with key global partners.
The president’s aircraft left the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, with senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to bid him farewell.
According to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu will first participate in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama, Japan, from 20 to 22 August.
With the theme ‘Co-create innovative solutions with Africa’, the high-level event will focus on accelerating Africa’s economic transformation through private investment, innovation, and stronger institutions.
TICAD, launched in 1993 by the Japanese government, is co-hosted by the United Nations, the UN Development Programme, the African Union Commission, and the World Bank, and is held every three years, alternating between Japan and African host countries. The last edition took place in Tunisia in 2022.
While in Japan, the President is expected to attend plenary sessions, hold bilateral talks with world leaders, and engage with Japanese business executives, including those with existing or potential investments in Nigeria. His engagements will also include promoting his administration’s economic growth agenda, which targets a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
From Japan, President Tinubu will proceed to Brasília, the capital of Brazil, for a state visit from 24 to 25 August at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. His itinerary will feature bilateral discussions with his host, participation in a Nigeria–Brazil Business Forum, and the signing of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding aimed at deepening trade ties, strengthening South–South cooperation, and attracting fresh foreign direct investment into Nigeria.
The President is accompanied by a high-level delegation of ministers, senior aides, and business leaders, who will hold parallel meetings with their counterparts in both countries to secure strategic partnerships in infrastructure, technology, energy, and agriculture.
The trip to Japan and Brazil comes amid a sustained push by the Tinubu administration to reposition Nigeria’s economy through expanded global partnerships. This will be President Tinubu’s third visit to Brazil in the past nine months, following trips in November 2024 and July 2025.
In June 2025, Nigeria and Brazil signed a $1 billion agreement to boost agricultural and energy cooperation, including the supply of mechanised farming equipment, capacity-building programmes, and the establishment of service centres across Nigeria. The deal forms part of the administration’s broader reforms aimed at achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Previous editions of TICAD have yielded multi-billion-dollar pledges for African development, and Nigeria is expected to leverage this year’s conference to advance its investment drive.
However, the trip has attracted political criticism. Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has questioned the timing, describing it as “insensitive”, given Nigeria’s domestic challenges, including insecurity and economic hardship.
In a statement, Obi argued that the president “is not a tourist” and should prioritise visiting crisis-affected areas within Nigeria.
