Nigeria Snubbed By White House At The 2025 African Summit

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition’s publicity secretary, has said in a statement that Nigeria’s opposition alliance blamed President Bola Tinubu for not receiving an invitation to the African summit in the White House on Wednesday, July 9.

Nigeria’s absence from the meeting, according to the newly established opposition alliance, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was a “terrible international indictment” of the nation’s weak foreign policy and dire economic situation under Tinubu.

The United States decided to overlook Nigeria in favor of countries whose combined GDP is a small portion of Nigeria’s, despite the fact that Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, the largest consumer market, and the most powerful diaspora on the continent.

The leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington from July 9 to July 11.

The conference ‘ main themes were trade, investment, and security as the Trump administration shifts to a “trade not aid” approach to African development.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the day before the summit was announced that countries “that have showed both the ability and willingness to help themselves” would be given preference when it comes to American engagement in Africa.

Nigeria is the most populous and economically significant nation in West Africa, therefore its omission from the summit on Wednesday is significant.

The United States and Nigeria’s diplomatic ties have deteriorated in recent times, and on Sunday, Trump declared on Truth Social that Nigeria and other BRICS nations would be subject to an additional 10% tariff. The President criticized BRICS policies in the post, saying they were being ‘anti-American’.

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Nigeria became an official partner of the emerging economies alliance early this year. In an apparent shot at the United States, President Tinubu called for “a reevaluation of the current global governance framework” during his remarks at the 17th BRICS Summit in Brazil earlier this week.

A few years ago, it would have been unimaginable that a conference like Wednesday’s would have taken place without Nigeria, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said, citing the new BRICS tax against the country as proof that its standing in the world was deteriorating.

Bolaji Abdullahi claims it demonstrates the extent to which the current government has damaged Nigeria’s reputation internationally.