Nigeria has secured a permanent seat on the Board of the African Central Bank (ACB), marking a major milestone in the continent’s financial integration drive.
The development was disclosed in a statement signed by Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, Spokesperson of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, on Friday.
It formed part of the diplomatic and institutional achievements recorded by the Nigerian delegation, comprising the Ministry and the Ministry of Finance and Coordinating Ministry of the Economy, at the just concluded 48th Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU).
The achievement, according to the ministry, underscores Nigeria’s strategic role in shaping Africa’s emerging financial architecture and deepening economic integration across the continent.
What they are saying
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the decision as a landmark moment for Nigeria and Africa’s financial governance structure.
It noted that the agreement was one of the major highlights of the Executive Council session.
- “A major highlight of the session was the Council’s agreement to grant Nigeria a permanent seat on the Board of the African Central Bank, a landmark development that underscores Nigeria’s strategic role in shaping Africa’s financial architecture.”
- “This decision also extends Nigeria’s representation to the Board of the Technical Convergence Committee of the African Monetary Institute, which serves as the precursor to the establishment of the African Central Bank.”
The ministry added that the development consolidates Nigeria’s leadership role in advancing Africa’s economic integration, peace, security, and democratic governance, while affirming its technical capacity and economic significance in driving the continent’s monetary integration agenda.
Backstory
The development comes nearly two years after President Bola Tinubu reassured the AU of Nigeria’s willingness to host the African Central Bank in line with provisions of the Abuja Treaty.
He made this commitment during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tinubu assured African leaders of Nigeria’s readiness to host the bank and pledged collaboration with the AU Commission and member states to establish it by 2028.
In a statement issued at the time by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the President categorized Africa’s challenges into externally engineered and locally induced issues.
He stressed that Africa’s success in addressing its challenges depends on firm collective resolve anchored on deep-rooted solidarity.
What you should know
The African Central Bank is one of the financial institutions envisioned under the framework of the African Economic Community to drive monetary cooperation and integration among member states.
The Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, otherwise known as the Abuja Treaty, was adopted on 3 June 1991 and entered into force on 12 May 1994.
The treaty aims to foster the social, economic, and cultural development of the continent through deeper economic integration.
- The treaty lays the foundation for the eventual establishment of an African Common Market and regulates the work and aims of the former OAU alongside its Charter.
- It provides for the creation of an African Economic Community through a gradual process of coordination, harmonization, and progressive integration of the activities of existing and future Regional Economic Communities in Africa.
- The integration process was designed to be implemented in six successive stages over 34 years.
- According to the AU Constitutive Act, the proposed headquarters of the African Central Bank will be located in Abuja, Nigeria.
The permanent seat on the ACB Board not only reinforces Nigeria’s central role in continental economic policymaking but also aligns with earlier commitments to host the bank’s headquarters, positioning the country at the heart of Africa’s evolving monetary governance framework.
It also signals growing recognition of Nigeria’s economic weight within the AU framework.
