NIGERIA FIRMLY BACK ON GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONTLINE, SAYS VP SHETTIMA

Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria has reclaimed a frontline seat in global and regional policy conversations following his diplomatic and economic mission. Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, stated this in a statement detailing the Vice President’s return to Abuja on Saturday after a week-long visit to Guinea-Conakry and Switzerland.

Shettima represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the inauguration of Guinea’s President, Mamadi Doumbouya, and led Nigeria’s delegation to the 56th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. In a statement, the trip was described as part of Nigeria’s renewed commitment to regional solidarity in West Africa and its determination to reposition the economy under the Renewed Hope agenda. In Guinea, he reaffirmed Nigeria’s leadership role within ECOWAS and opened new pathways for bilateral cooperation in agriculture and manufacturing.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, a key highlight was the commissioning of Nigeria House Davos, the nation’s first-ever sovereign pavilion on the Davos Promenade, designed as a permanent investment hub for solid minerals, agriculture and the digital economy. During a high-level session titled “When Food Becomes Security,” Shettima outlined Nigeria’s new national food security framework, describing agriculture as a strategic pillar of national security and macroeconomic stability. Shettima also joined former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of Finance Wale Edun to advance the Accra Reset Initiative, which advocates for African industrialisation driven by domestic capital and value chains.

Addressing investors, Shettima stated that Nigeria’s macroeconomic indicators were stabilising, citing a projected 4.4 per cent GDP growth in 2026 and a decline in inflation to 12.94 per cent. He further pointed to Nigeria’s imminent transition into a net exporter of refined petroleum products, anchored by the Dangote Refinery, and the growing export of digital talent as signs of economic progress.