Global financial reforms are needed to support Africa’s industrial growth, President Tinubu says at summit in Kenya

President Bola Tinubu has called for urgent global financial reforms, arguing that existing international economic structures are constraining Africa’s industrial growth and deepening inequality in global trade.

Also read: Tinubu meets CAF boss Motsepe at Kenya Summit talks

Tinubu made the call on Tuesday while addressing the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, where he led Nigeria’s delegation comprising ministers, diplomats and leading business executives.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The summit, co-hosted by Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto, brought together leaders from more than 30 countries alongside global officials including António Guterres and Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

In his remarks, Tinubu said Africa must move beyond dependence on raw material exports and embrace industrialisation to secure long-term economic prosperity.

According to the President, Africa’s contribution to global manufacturing value added remains below two per cent despite decades of political independence.

Tinubu attributed the situation to structural imbalances within the global financial and trade system.

“Last September, from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Nigeria warned that the international system must reform or risk irrelevance,” Tinubu said.

“We spoke not only of the Security Council but of the financial and trade structures that quietly de-industrialise our nations.”

The President highlighted Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification and banking sector recapitalisation, describing them as sovereign decisions aimed at stabilising the economy and attracting investment.

Tinubu stated that Nigeria had recorded improvements in foreign reserves and debt ratios but warned that rising debt servicing obligations continued to limit funding available for development and industrial expansion.

He disclosed that Nigeria is projected to spend about $11.6bn on debt servicing in 2026.

“Every single dollar that leaves our treasury to pay punitive interest rates is a dollar that did not go into our steel sector, our textile mills, our agro-processing plants, or our digital industries,” the President stated.

“Our industrial base is being starved of the blood it needs — long-term, affordable finance — while creditors and rating agencies treat African sovereigns as permanent high-risk borrowers.”

Tinubu stressed that Nigeria was not seeking charity but demanding a fairer financial system capable of supporting Africa’s industrialisation agenda, including local processing of minerals, crude oil refining and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The President also advocated stronger investment in Africa’s blue economy and offered Nigeria’s maritime intelligence infrastructure as a shared regional resource for countries within the Gulf of Guinea.

He said improved maritime security and governance were essential for unlocking investment opportunities across Africa’s ocean economy.

Tinubu further called for stronger international cooperation on migration, maintaining that economic growth and job creation across Africa would help reduce irregular migration pressures.

On the sidelines of the summit, Tinubu held bilateral talks with Michael Randrianirina and also met with Patrice Motsepe, where he reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to host the 2026 CAF Awards.

Also read: Tinubu arrives in Kenya for Africa Forward Summit

The President was accompanied by senior ministers and prominent Nigerian business leaders, including Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Tony Elumelu and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.