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Nigeria Left Out as Trump Invites Five African Presidents to White House; Details of Invited Presidents

Published by Akinwale Fakinlede on July 4th, 2025.

Nigeria Left Out as Trump Invites Five African Presidents to White House; Details of Invited Presidents

President Donald Trump has invited leaders from five African nations—Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal—for a meeting at the White House on July 9. The agenda: to discuss commercial ties between the U.S. and Africa.

Conspicuously absent from the invite list is Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a major player on the continent. There’s been no official explanation for the snub, but since taking office in January, Trump has shown little public engagement with Nigeria on any major economic front.

A White House official told Reuters the meeting will focus on strengthening commercial partnerships that are “mutually beneficial” to both American and African citizens.

In contrast, President Bola Tinubu met in April with Massad Boulos, a senior Africa advisor from Trump’s team, during a visit to Paris. That meeting reportedly centered around building economic and security ties—but so far, it hasn’t translated into high-level engagement from the White House.

This comes on the heels of other developments that suggest a cooling of U.S.-Africa relations under Trump. In June, the Trump administration announced plans to expand visa restrictions to 36 African countries, including Nigeria. Countries affected will need to meet new State Department requirements within 60 days to avoid the ban.

Trump has also recently cut U.S. foreign aid to Africa, framing the move as part of his broader “America First” policy agenda to reduce what he considers wasteful spending abroad.