President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday led Nigeria’s delegation to the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, advocating stronger economic integration that prioritises Africa’s growth and industrialisation.
The Africa-France Summit, co-hosted by Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and William Ruto of Kenya, brought together leaders and senior officials from over 30 countries to discuss Africa’s economic transformation and development priorities.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday in Abuja.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Union Commission Chairman Mahamoud Youssouf delivered opening remarks.
On the sidelines of the summit, Tinubu held a bilateral meeting with Madagascar’s president, Michael Randrianirina.
He also met CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, expressing Nigeria’s readiness to host the 2026 CAF Awards.
At the summit, the French government advocated restructuring economic and political relations with Africa on the basis of equality and fairness, while African leaders emphasised improved access to affordable credit for development financing.
Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s blue economy potential as a cornerstone of Africa’s development, noting that insecurity and uncertainty had long hindered investment opportunities within the maritime sector and broader ocean-based economic activities.
“Today, I make an explicit commitment: Nigeria will intensify regional coordination by offering our Deep Blue Project’s maritime intelligence infrastructure as a shared data hub for willing Gulf of Guinea states,” Tinubu said.
He said interoperable systems, harmonised laws, and seamless joint enforcement must become operational realities.
He stressed that secure sea lanes, predictable regulations, and functional courts remained essential to unlocking private sector investments in Africa’s maritime economy.
The president said Nigeria would continue advancing climate-aligned port modernisation and digital transformation within the maritime sector.
Tinubu said Africa must move from “sea blindness to ocean sovereignty”, describing the continent’s oceans as a shared heritage requiring collective protection, stronger institutions, legal frameworks, regional solidarity, and coordinated maritime security enforcement mechanisms.
On international financial reforms, Tinubu said Nigeria had consistently warned that the current global financial architecture risks irrelevance if it fails to address inequities affecting developing nations, particularly African economies seeking industrial growth and competitiveness.
He said Africa’s share of global manufacturing remained below two per cent because the continent exported raw materials while importing processed products, blaming policy constraints, illicit financial flows, and limited access to affordable industrial financing.
Tinubu said Nigeria had implemented painful but necessary reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and banking recapitalisation exceeding 45.5 billion dollars, aimed at restoring investor confidence and strengthening economic fundamentals.
The president, however, lamented that African economies still faced punitive borrowing costs, noting Nigeria would spend about 11.6 billion dollars on debt servicing in 2026, limiting investments in industrialisation and critical development sectors.
“How can an African manufacturer compete with competitors in Europe, Asia, or North America when borrowing costs in Africa are five to ten times higher?” Tinubu asked during discussions on financing industrial development.
He maintained that Nigeria was not seeking charity but demanding a fair financial system that enables African countries to process minerals, refine crude oil, manufacture pharmaceuticals, and compete effectively in global industrial and trade markets.
On migration, Tinubu said African governments and development partners must address root causes by investing in infrastructure, agriculture, digital skills, energy access, and productive sectors capable of creating sustainable employment opportunities for young people.
He urged development partners to dedicate portions of official development assistance toward programmes reducing desperation driving irregular migration, stressing that people with jobs, security, and hope rarely risk dangerous migration journeys across borders.
Tinubu also called for stronger African cooperation in building an effective global migration governance framework, supporting the African Union’s Migration Policy Framework and the Khartoum Process while seeking stronger links with global migration institutions.
The president was accompanied by ministers, senior government officials, and leading Nigerian business executives, including Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Tony Elumelu, and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
Ministers also held bilateral meetings and participated in summit plenaries. (NAN)
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