President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s participation in the 2026 France-Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, is to advance Nigeria’s economic reform agenda while strengthening Africa’s collective push for sustainable growth, strategic economic partnerships, and investment-driven development across the continent.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, Mr Daniel Bwala, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents on Monday on the sidelines of the summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
Bwala said the gathering comes at a time when African countries are pursuing critical reforms aimed at creating a more conducive investment climate and repositioning the continent for sustainable economic prosperity.
According to him, President Tinubu considers the summit highly strategic, given that six of the seven thematic areas slated for deliberation align closely with the core pillars of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda currently being implemented in Nigeria.
Bwala identified key areas of focus to include international financial restructuring, artificial intelligence, agriculture, the blue economy, and agricultural transformation, noting that they reflect critical reforms already being pursued under President Tinubu’s leadership.
“For us as a country and, of course, the leading country in Africa in many respects, the President deems that this is a strategic meeting, and the meeting 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 in Nigeria,” Bwala said.
The presidential 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 possesses between 20 and 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 is to encourage African countries to harness their vast resources and build prosperous economies independent of excessive foreign dependence.
“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 on the rest of the world,” he said.
Speaking on the opportunities the summit presents for Nigeria and the wider African continent, the presidential aide said Nigeria, as a leading force in Africa, remains an investment-friendly destination richly endowed with vast natural and human resources
He added that President Tinubu’s subsequent participation in the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, further demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening strategic economic partnerships across the continent.
“The President even intends to move as far as Kigali to also continue this conversation with the African CEO; here it is quite strategic, it is important, and most of the thematic areas already fall in line with what we are doing in Nigeria.
“And 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.” The presidential aide emphasised.
On the President’s expected presentation at the summit, Bwala said the Nigerian Leader 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.
“Like I told you, the key areas, for example, in financial restructuring, you know what we have done with the 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 landmass 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,” he said.
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.
“Not just as bringing investment to Nigeria or Africa but participating in an investment that you have a 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,” Bwala added.
