ADC laments Nigeria’s exclusion from White House trade talks

…We will take over Nigeria – Ebonyi ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed grave concern over President Donald Trump’s decision to exclude Nigeria from his meeting with Presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal for high-level commercial talks holding today ((Wednesday) at the White House in the United States.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of ADC and Opposition Coalition Spokesperson, in a statement made available to BusinessDay in Abuja, emphasised that Nigeria’s exclusion from the high-level economic dialogue is a damning international indictment of the Tinubu’s Administration and its sustained economic mismanagement.

The ADC Spokesman also stressed that Tinubu’s weak and incoherent diplomacy, and inability to project Nigeria’s strategic importance on the global stage, had been responsible for the poor treatment of Nigeria, by the American government.

Recall that President Trump had invited the five African Countries to a roundtable meeting to the high-level commercial dialogue at the White House on Wednesday (today).

The dialogue is viewed as part of America’s new policy directed at engaging African governments who for several years had argued that it was about time that the Western World started to engage with African countries as trade partners rather than as hapless recipients of aid.

Read also: ADC accuses Tinubu of orchestrating plot to destabilise opposition coalition

The dialogue is therefore, seen as part of President Trump’s plans to change the narrative. The ADC noted that since his emergence, Trump has been cutting down on aid and promoting trade, but added that “Nigeria is not invited to the table”

According to the Americans, the three-day meeting, which starts on Wednesday, is convened to explore commercial opportunities that could benefit both American companies and African partners.

They said they have invited countries who have demonstrated “the ability, and willingness, to help itself. What this means in plain language is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer taken seriously”, he noted.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Adebi Nwafor, the Ebonyi State Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has declared that the party is poised to take over the leadership of the State through a strong grassroots campaign and unified coalition structure.

In an exclusive interaction with BusinessDay, Nwafor expressed optimism about the future of the ADC in Ebonyi, stating that the party had experienced a remarkable surge in membership and interest following the recent coalition announcements.

“Nobody knew that today, ADC would gain such momentum across the country. I’m truly grateful to God and all our coalition partners. In Ebonyi, just like elsewhere, we’ve gone back to the drawing board to strategise,” she said.

Nwafor revealed that over 2,000 new members had registered within four days, indicating a growing desire among the populace for change.

According to the State chairman, ADC has intensified efforts to unify all coalition partners in Ebonyi and is planning several awareness programs to educate the public on the party’s vision and principles.

“We’re holding stakeholder meetings and planning debates and summits to formally welcome new members and ensure everyone is under one united ADC umbrella,” she stated.

She also emphasised that ADC remains a single, united party nationwide. “There’s only one ADC. Any group or NGO coming in will align under this one identity,” she added. “Politics is about interest. I have no intention of betraying my party. I’m committed to supporting ADC all the way.”