The Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr Olaniyi Yusuf, stressed that Africa’s economic transformation relies on strengthening regional collaboration, removing trade barriers, and accelerating cross-border investments.
He highlighted that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a historic chance to unlock regional value chains and increase Africa’s GDP by 140 billion dollars by 2035 if properly implemented.
Yusuf made the remarks at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit (NES31) in Abuja on Wednesday, urging the continent to move beyond rhetoric toward deepening integration and mobilising regional capital for development.
He said Nigeria’s and Africa’s economic growth depended on collaboration through shared markets, talent, and resources, adding that without this, long-term prosperity would remain elusive.
Yusuf highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a historic chance to unlock regional value chains and increase Africa’s GDP by 140 billion dollars by 2035 if properly implemented.
He called for urgent removal of non-tariff barriers, harmonisation of regulations, and mobilisation of African institutional capital to support regional industries and infrastructure projects.
“We rely heavily on external financing, yet more than 2.9 trillion dollars in assets exist within Africa.
“Deploying this capital to support trade and investment could transform the continent,” Yusuf said.
He emphasised mobilising pension and sovereign wealth funds to drive cross-border investments and industrial expansion, noting Nigeria’s pension assets alone exceeded N20 trillion.
Yusuf urged governments and private sector leaders to create regional capital markets and investment instruments that fostered intra-African trade and sustainable development.
“Reforming domestically without aligning with Africa will leave progress incomplete and fragile.
“When Africa invests and grows together, Nigeria will rise with it,” he stated.
He called for public-private partnerships, policy coherence, and cross-border trust to build a prosperous future with no economic borders in Africa.
Yusuf reiterated NESG’s commitment to the Rising Together initiative, a platform supporting Nigeria’s regional footprint and Africa’s collective economic transformation.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said Nigeria’s foreign policy must align with economic priorities by removing trade barriers, attracting investment, and driving continental industrialisation.
Tuggar noted that foreign and economic policies were inseparable, stating Nigeria’s diplomacy would focus on trade expansion, partnership security, and opportunities for Nigerian businesses.
The minister highlighted the government’s 4D foreign policy agenda, Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora, as the foundation for strengthening economic diplomacy.
“With our demographic weight and strategic position, we can drive industrialisation in Nigeria and Africa, but this requires policy alignment across sectors,” he said.
Tuggar added that Africa’s transformation depended on sound industrial policies and regional coordination that attract private capital, not on donor dependence.
