The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has described the empty Nigerian booths at the ongoing Ninth Tokyo International Conference (TICAD9) in Japan as a diplomatic embarrassment and a clear symbol of President Bola Tinubu’s unfulfilled promises to Nigerians.
Thelensng had earlier reported that President Tinubu and his delegation were scheduled to attend TICAD9 from August 20 to 22, before proceeding on a two-day state visit to Brazil from August 24 to 25.
However, Nigeria’s booth at the conference was observed to be empty on Wednesday, with no officials or dignitaries present — leading to widespread disappointment and criticism from Nigerians.
Reacting to the development, Obi stated: “The empty Nigerian booths in the ongoing Ninth Tokyo International Conference, TICAD9, in Japan do not just define the empty promises of this government for the past two years, they also reflect the consistent emptiness Nigerians have been fed at home by this government.
“Even the defence being put forward by the government, that they only wanted to have more ‘strategic engagements’ is the same tired excuse we have heard over and over again.”
He lamented that Tinubu’s government has mastered the art of throwing around wrong statistics and misleading statements, not to provide real solutions, but to camouflage the emptiness of its performance and the suffering it has inflicted on Nigerians.
“The empty booths at TICAD are not just about a diplomatic embarrassment, they are a clear symbol of the hollow promises and empty governance that our citizens have endured.
“Just as those booths stood empty in Japan, so too have the lives of millions of Nigerians been left empty, with empty hope, empty relief, and empty of the progress they were promised,” the politician decried.
Obi affirmed that the truth is unavoidable, reiterating that the empty booths abroad are a physical reminder of the empty promises at home.
He further advised that Nigeria must do better as a nation to avoid similar occurrences.
