Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting between United States President Donald Trump and the presidents of five African states at the White House, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed grave concern over the U.S. government’s decision to exclude Nigeria.
The session, described as the African Leaders Summit to discuss “commercial opportunities,” will be attended by President Donald Trump and the Presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal, reports Nigeran Tribune.
In a statement, the ADC Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, declared that Nigeria’s exclusion from “this high-level economic dialogue is a damning international indictment of the Tinubu administration and its sustained economic mismanagement, weak and incoherent diplomacy, and inability to project Nigeria’s strategic importance on the global stage.”
The statement read:
“For years, African thought leaders have argued that it was time the Western world began engaging with African countries as trade partners rather than as hapless recipients of aid. Now, an American president has emerged who is cutting aid and promoting trade — yet Nigeria is not invited to the table.
“According to the Americans, the three-day meeting, which begins Wednesday, is convened to explore commercial opportunities that could benefit both American companies and African partners. They said they invited countries that have demonstrated ‘the ability and willingness to help themselves.’
“What this means, in plain language, is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer taken seriously. Although we remain Africa’s largest economy with the biggest consumer market and the most influential diaspora, the United States has bypassed us in favor of nations whose combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is only a fraction of ours. With this snub, the Americans are sending a clear message: size means nothing without leadership and a demonstrable commitment to efficiency, transparency, and accountability.
“Only a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for such a meeting to hold without Nigeria. This shows how far this administration has diminished our global standing. To make matters worse, Nigeria is now being threatened by President Trump with a 10% tariff due to our association with BRICS, which began in January 2025. The ADC is not opposed to BRICS, but we are opposed to Nigeria punching below its weight by playing in the small leagues.
“If Nigeria had provided the leadership that other African countries expect of us — and which we have competently provided in the past — we would have been invited to the Wednesday summit in Washington. Nigeria could have used the opportunity to advance the African Union’s position on global trade, especially considering our own Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala heads the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“But under this APC administration, Nigeria is no longer respected, even as a regional leader within ECOWAS. The regional body has shrunk in size and significance under President Tinubu’s leadership. Once the acknowledged leader of the continent, Nigeria has now become an afterthought — reduced to engagements with fringe countries like St. Lucia, whose GDP is less than 1% of ours and whose population is smaller than that of a rural local government in Nigeria. Yet, our president spent an entire week there for reasons the government is still struggling to explain.
“The truth is that the APC has not only stalled our economic progress but also stripped us of the opportunity to sit at the table where real decisions and investments that could create jobs, boost growth, and improve our economy are being made.
“This is what happens when the government at the center prioritises politics over performance and propaganda over progress. As a nation that has led before — and can lead again — we must reject the future the APC seeks to impose on us: one where we are ignored, sidelined, and treated as insignificant. Nigerians must demand better, because Nigeria is too big, too important, and too proud to be left out.”
