President Bola Tinubu will on Thursday, August 14, embark on a two-nation trip to Japan and Brazil, with a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In Japan, the President will attend the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama from August 20 to 22. The conference, themed “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa”, will focus on Africa’s economic transformation, improved business environment, institutional reforms, private investment, and innovation.

During the summit, Tinubu will participate in plenary sessions, hold bilateral meetings, and engage with the executives of Japanese companies investing in Nigeria.

Initiated in 1993 by the Japanese government, TICAD is co-hosted by the United Nations, UNDP, the African Union Commission, and the World Bank. It is held every three years, alternating between Japan and Africa. The last edition took place in Tunisia in August 2022.

At the end of the conference, President Tinubu will proceed to Brasilia, Brazil, for a two-day state visit from August 24 to 25, at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In Brazil, he will meet his counterpart, participate in a business forum with Brazilian investors, and oversee the signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The President will be accompanied by key ministers and senior government officials.

Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of the Alárá of Aramoko-Ekiti, HRM (Dr) Adégòkè Olú Adéyemi,  who died at the age of 82.

In a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Bamidele commiserated with the people of Aramoko-Ekiti and the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, describing the late monarch as an astute public servant whose reign brought rapid and positive transformation to the community.

The Senate Leader recalled that Oba Adegoke, as former Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), made numerous contributions to the institution’s growth, laying a solid foundation that helped position it among the country’s leading state-owned universities.

“I am shocked by the passing of our royal father, whose reign witnessed significant development in Aramoko-Ekiti,” Bamidele said. “It is on record that he worked with successive state governments, most recently with Governor Oyebanji’s administration, to promote peace, unity, and religious harmony in the culturally rich community.”

Bamidele extended his condolences to Governor Oyebanji, the Alárá-in-Council, and the entire Aramoko-Ekiti community, praying for the repose of the monarch’s soul and urging his family to take solace in the enduring legacy of good name he left behind.

The Presidency has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is critically ill and preparing to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment.

The denial follows a report by the Nigerian Institute for Investigative Journalism (NIIJ) last week alleging that the President’s medical team was making arrangements for an emergency evacuation. The report also claimed Tinubu had been bedridden, with Vice President Kashim Shettima taking over official engagements and several presidential activities being cancelled.

In an interview with BBC Hausa on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, AbdulAziz AbdulAziz, described the allegations as unfounded and politically motivated.

Speculation about the President’s health intensified after his absence from the August 3 ceremony honouring Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, where the Vice President represented him. Tinubu’s last public appearance was on August 1 at the opening of the Summit on Journalism for National Development.

The Presidency maintained that the President remains actively engaged in his official duties and urged the public to disregard the health rumours.