The Honourable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye, on Saturday, delivered Nigeria’s National Statement on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at the NEPAD Founding Member States’ Summit in Alamein, Arab Republic of Egypt.
According to the minister’s media office, the Summit, hosted by H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi marks the 25th anniversary of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
In the statement, President Tinubu, as delivered by Amb. Enikanolaiye noted that the meeting is “more than a gathering and celebration of a vision of five founding nations. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, assess the current strides, and forge a stronger commitment to the future development of our continent.”
The President conveyed Nigeria’s profound appreciation to Egypt for its warm hospitality and commended the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, Madame Nardos Bekele-Thomas, for her visionary leadership and milestone achievements under the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063.
He stressed that NEPAD’s founding principle – that Africa’s development can not be outsourced – remains even more compelling today in the face of geopolitical tensions, climate change, technology gaps, and difficult global financing conditions.
President Tinubu emphasized that Africa does not lack strategies, including Agenda 2063, AfCFTA, and CAADP, but must now collectively operationalize them for the benefit of its teeming population, especially youths and women.
Five-Point Agenda for Africa
Nigeria, therefore, proposed five interconnected strategic priorities for founding states:
1. Acceleration of continental economic integration through full implementation of AfCFTA;
2. Closing Africa’s infrastructure gap through cross-border infrastructure and strategic corridors;
3. Strengthening development financing and mobilizing African capital;
4. Investing in people through education, science, technology, and vocational training; and
5. Strengthening peace, security, and good governance.
Call for De-escalation
On peace and security, President Tinubu made a passionate appeal for collective action to preserve peace on the continent.
He called on African leaders to prevail on fellow sister-countries currently on the verge of a shooting war to de-escalate tensions and return to diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of their differences.
The President’s call, which was an apparent reference to the rising tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, underscored Nigeria’s position that economic prosperity can only be achieved in a peaceful and orderly society.
He stressed that terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organized crimes and political instability continue to threaten communities and undermine economic progress, and urged for intelligence-sharing, stronger border management, greater investment in underlying socio-economic conditions, and fast-tracking the operationalization of the Africa Standby Force.
Nigeria welcomed the Summit Declaration and reaffirmed its readiness to work with fellow founding states to establish a structured cooperation mechanism on trade, infrastructure, energy, food security, technology, development finance, human capital and peace and security, to complement the work of AUDA-NEPAD and the African Union.
