The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has blamed President Bola Tinubu’s administration for Nigeria’s exclusion from a high-level U.S.-Africa trade meeting hosted by the White House this week.

The party described the development as a damning verdict on the country’s declining global relevance under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.

In a statement issued by the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary and spokesperson for the opposition coalition, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC stated that Nigeria’s omission from the three-day economic talks attended by the Presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal highlights the country’s growing marginalisation in international affairs.

According to the ADC, the meeting was convened by the United States to discuss commercial opportunities with African nations that have shown “the ability and willingness to help themselves.”

Abdullahi argued that Nigeria’s exclusion, despite being Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, signals a loss of credibility and leadership on the global stage.

“What this means in plain language is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer taken seriously,” the statement said.

“The U.S. chose to bypass us in favour of nations whose combined GDP is a fraction of ours. This is proof that size means nothing without leadership, transparency, and accountability.” The party stressed.

The ADC lamented that only a few years ago, Nigeria would have been a natural participant in such strategic dialogues, but now finds itself sidelined.

The party also criticised what it described as the Tinubu administration’s weak diplomacy, incoherent economic management, and its failure to uphold Nigeria’s strategic weight in Africa and beyond.

Citing the irony of Nigeria’s leadership position in the African Union and the global stature of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, the ADC said the country’s absence from the White House trade talks underscores how far it has fallen.

The party further criticized Nigeria’s recent inclusion in the BRICS bloc, suggesting that while BRICS membership is not inherently negative, it should not come at the cost of Nigeria’s standing with Western allies, especially now that former U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a ten percent tariff on Nigeria for aligning with the bloc.

“Nigeria is punching below its weight. We are reduced to playing in the small league,” the ADC said. “President Tinubu spent a week in St. Lucia—a country with less than 1% of Nigeria’s GDP and a population smaller than many local governments in Nigeria—for reasons the government has yet to explain.”

The statement also lamented Nigeria’s declining influence in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), saying the regional body has weakened under Tinubu’s leadership, further compounding Nigeria’s diplomatic isolation.

The ADC urged Nigerians to reject what it described as the APC’s culture of propaganda.

“APC has not only stalled our economic growth, but it has also denied us a seat at the global table where crucial investment and policy decisions are being made. Nigerians must demand better. This country is too big, too important, and too proud to be ignored,” the statement said.