By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
STRONGER ECONOMIC integration focusing on Africa’s growth and prosperity was advocated as Nigeria’s government, diplomatic and business delegation, led by President Bola Tinubu, attended the Africa Forward Summit (AFS) at the Kenyatta Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Africa and France summit, co-hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and President William Ruto, brought together leaders and top officials from more than 30 countries across the continent.
Opening statements were delivered by Ruto and Macron, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and the Chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
On the sidelines of the summit, President Tinubu held a bilateral meeting with President Michael Randrianirina of Madagascar.
He later met with the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Dr Patrice Motsepe, and expressed Nigeria’s readiness to host the 2026 CAF awards.
At the summit, the French government advocated restructuring economic and political relations on the basis of equality and fairness, while African leaders emphasised greater access to credit to fund major investments and stimulate economic growth.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, stated on May 12, 2026, that President Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s potential in the blue economy as a cornerstone of Africa’s development, noting long standing neglect due to insecurity and uncertainty.
President Tinubu said: “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. Interoperable systems, harmonised laws, and seamless joint enforcement must become the daily reality, not an aspiration on paper.
“Let no one misunderstand maritime sovereignty does not repel investment, it attracts it. Secure sea lanes, predictable regulation, and functional courts are the preconditions that unlock private capital. Governance has de risked Nigeria’s maritime proposition. We now invite partners to build on these gains as we advance climate aligned port modernisation and the digital transformation of our maritime sector.
“As we endorse the Nairobi Declaration, Nigeria affirms that maritime sovereignty and ocean governance are the non negotiable foundations of Africa’s Blue Economy transformation. We will continue to earn that sovereignty through institutions, through assets, through law, and through iron clad regional solidarity that turns our waters from a theatre of risk into a story of shared resilience.
“The oceans have no duplicate as a common heritage of mankind. For Africa, moving from sea blindness to ocean sovereignty is not a choice, it is a generational duty. Nigeria is ready, and we invite all present to join us in that duty,” the President stated.
On reform of the international financial architecture, President Tinubu said Nigeria had warned at the United Nations General Assembly that the international system must reform or risk irrelevance, including financial and trade structures affecting industrialisation in Africa.
He said Africa’s share of global manufacturing value added remains below 2 per cent despite decades of independence, adding that the continent exports raw materials and imports processed goods at higher cost due to structural constraints in global finance and trade.
President Tinubu stated that Nigeria had taken reforms including removal of fuel subsidies, unification of the exchange rate, recapitalisation of the banking system with over US$3.4 billion, and exit from the FATF grey list, noting a declining debt to GDP ratio projected at 32.3 percent in 2026, and external reserves of $45.5 billion.
He said: “Nigeria does not come to this discussion as a supplicant. We come as a nation that has taken painful, homegrown decisions to put our house in order.”
The President added that in 2026 Nigeria will spend about US$11.6 billion on debt service, describing the impact on domestic investment in sectors including steel, textiles, agro-processing and digital industries.
He stated: “So, I ask this gathering: how can an African manufacturer compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to ten times higher?”
President Tinubu said migration issues must be addressed through expanded safe, orderly and legal pathways, and through investment in job creation, climate adaptation, energy access and digital skills.
He called for development partners to ring fence part of Official Development Assistance for programmes that reduce irregular migration, while supporting cooperation on migration governance frameworks including the African Union Migration Policy Framework and the Khartoum Process.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that President Tinubu was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole, and Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani.
Business leaders including Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Tony Elumelu, and Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede attended the summit alongside officials such as Aisha Rimi of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, Mrs Omotenioye Majekodunmi of the National Council on Climate Change, Ambassador Ayodele Oke, and Director General of the National Intelligence Agency Amb Mohammed Mohammed.
On the side, the ministers also held bilateral meetings with counterparts from Kenya, France and other African countries, and participated in plenaries at Nairobi University and the Kenyatta Convention Centre focused on engagement, entrepreneurship and Africa’s demographic dividend, alongside discussions on AI, digitalisation, investment, agro-industry, climate change and industrialisation frameworks.
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