Presidency: Tinubu to Spearhead Africa’s Economic Transformation Talks in Kenya

• Advancing Nigeria’s economic reform agenda also on the card

Deji Elumoye in Nairobi, Kenya

The presidency yesterday said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s participation in the 2026 France-Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, aimed to advance Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.

It also stated that the president would use the opportunity of the summit to strengthen Africa’s collective push for sustainable growth, strategic economic partnerships, and investment-driven development across the continent.

Presidential spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, who briefed newsmen on the side-lines of the summit in Nairobi, said the conference was coming at a time when African countries were pursuing critical reforms aimed at creating a more conducive investment climate and repositioning the continent for sustainable economic prosperity.

According to Bwala, Tinubu considers the summit as highly strategic, given that six of the seven thematic areas slated for deliberation on Tuesday align closely with the core pillars of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda currently being implemented in Nigeria.

He identified key areas of focus to include international financial restructuring, artificial intelligence, agriculture, blue economy, and agricultural transformation, stating that they reflect critical reforms already being pursued under Tinubu’s leadership.

Bwala stated, “For us as a country and, of course, the leading country in Africa in many respects, the president deems it that this is a strategic meeting that is going to focus on seven thematic areas fortunately for us, six of the seven thematic areas happen to fall in line with the president’s renewed hope policy programmes, which we have started implementing right from day one.

 “Take, for example, when they talk about the international financial restructuring, we have seen the financial structuring, which has taken place in Nigeria, which has given confidence on Nigeria.”

The presidential media aide also highlighted Nigeria’s growing deployment of artificial intelligence and digital technology, stressing that the country’s youthful population presents enormous opportunities for innovation-driven growth.

On agriculture, Bwala said Nigeria had about 30 million hectares of arable land, describing the sector as a major component of the summit discussions and a critical area for investment and economic diversification.

He explained that the broader objective of the summit was to encourage African countries to harness their vast resources and build prosperous economies independent of excessive foreign dependence.

He explained, “These are areas that they intend to focus on and the whole concept of this summit is to create this sense that Africa by itself can create the economy that they deserve, rather than this dependency from the rest of the world.”

On the opportunities the summit presented for Nigeria and the wider African continent, Bwala said Nigeria, as a leading force in Africa, was an investment-friendly destination richly endowed with vast natural and human resources.

He said, “The president of Nigeria, who is a leading figure in Africa, is happy to lead in this endeavour. He is going to participate in three plenaries tomorrow. And these are areas that affect most of what we are doing in Nigeria.”

On the president’s expected presentation at the summit, Bwala said Tinubu will showcase Nigeria’s ongoing reforms and practical successes in sectors, such as finance, agriculture, and blue economy as examples other African countries could emulate.

He stated, “Like I told you, the key areas, for example, in financial restructuring, you know what we have done with unification of foreign exchange, which has given confidence to our Naira. So Nigeria is not only participating but also showing the example of what we have done which the rest of Africa can also emulate.

“In the area of agriculture, if you look at what we are doing in Nigeria and the opportunity that our arable fruitful land mast creates for investment and the president has actually initiated those reforms in agriculture in Nigeria, in other words, ‘I am doing something to tell you I believe in it, I am seeing the result and I am asking you to come and participate.’”

According to Bwala, the president’s address would centre on creating mutually beneficial investment opportunities capable of delivering sustainable returns while accelerating economic growth across Africa.

He said, “Not just as bringing investment to Nigeria or Africa but participating in an investment that you have return on investment.

“In the blue economy, you see what we are doing in Africa and in Nigeria, in particular, most of these thematic areas happen to fall in line with what the president is going to talk about.”

The presidential aide also stated that Tinubu’s subsequent participation later in the week at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, will further demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening strategic economic partnerships across the continent.

He said, “The president even intends to move to as far as Kigali to also continue this conversation with the African CEOs, here it is quiet strategic, it is important and most of the thematic areas already fall in line with what we are doing in Nigeria.”