Strengthening Global Partnerships For Economic Renewal And National Rebranding Under The Renewed Hope Administration

Speech at the UK Edition of the Renewed Hope Global Dialogue, London, UK, on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

It is my pleasure to address the UK Edition of the Renewed Hope Global Dialogue, organised by Renewed Hope Global in conjunction with the Foreign Investment Network (FIN), with the theme “Strengthening Global Partnerships for Economic Renewal and National Rebranding under the Renewed Hope Administration.”

First, let me commend the organisers, Renewed Hope Global, for putting this event together and for their ongoing efforts to project Nigeria in a positive light while amplifying the remarkable successes of the Renewed Hope Administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

We are here today to discuss the power of strategic global partnerships in building a Nigeria that is resilient, prosperous, and respected. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is indeed a man who understands how to leverage strategic partnerships for growth and advancement.

The All Progressives Congress is also itself the product of a partnership that has endured. As you all know, the President played a leading role in the emergence of that partnership and in its enduring success. That partnership delivered the first-ever presidential opposition win over an incumbent in the history of our country.

Today, a decade later, that progressive partnership is actively implementing some of the most far-reaching and impactful fiscal and economic reforms our nation has ever seen.

We now have a unified exchange rate regime, a national student loans program that has benefited over half a million students and counting, a new national minimum wage, a national consumer credit program, presidential CNG initiative, four new Tax Acts, five new Regional Development Commissions, and a Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, among other fundamental reforms that are fast-tracking our ambitions to be a leading global economy.

Beyond what we are achieving domestically, the APC is just as committed to transforming our place as a nation on the global stage. Nigeria exists within an international context, and what happens in that space has implications for what happens domestically, and vice versa.

For this reason, it is important to ensure that we are deliberate and strategic in forging the right relationships and alliances that can help fast-track our journey to development.

President Tinubu’s foreign policy vision for Nigeria is embodied in the Tinubu Doctrine, anchored on the “4Ds”: Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora. Let me briefly focus on the fourth ‘D’—Diaspora—which is very well represented here today.

The Tinubu Administration has been very focused on engaging with the Nigerian diaspora and leveraging this vital connection for economic development. This year, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the Non-Resident BVN (NRBVN), which allows Nigerians living abroad to seamlessly access banking services at home.

Signature federal programmes like the Renewed Hope Housing Initiative have been designed in a way that Nigerians in the diaspora can participate in and benefit from, opening up opportunities for them to invest in and own affordable homes at home. We have also seen passport and visa reforms making it easier for diaspora Nigerians to obtain and renew their passports.

We recognise the significance of remittances in our economy, and President Tinubu is committed to doing everything possible to support the contributions of our diaspora population to nation-building. These remittances support livelihoods and businesses, create jobs, and provide much-needed foreign exchange.

In the areas of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagement, Nigeria has equally been making giant strides. At the beginning of this year, Nigeria was admitted as a BRICS partner country, opening up a new chapter of cooperation with some of the world’s biggest and fastest-developing nations.

Just this week, a Nigerian was elected Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), while another Nigerian—my colleague, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas)—emerged as President of the 2026 GECF Ministerial Meeting.

And just yesterday, the news came from Paris that Nigeria has been delisted from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List, affirming the success of our bold reforms to strengthen our Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

So many agencies of government collaborated very closely under the direction of Mr. President, to achieve this feat that demonstrates very clearly to the world that Nigeria is serious about financial transparency and enforcement.

Nigerians have also been taking up leadership positions in various international institutions, ranging from the World Customs Organization to the International Telecommunication Union and the International Association of Ports and Harbours.

This is very much in alignment with the Tinubu Doctrine, envisioning a Nigeria that is increasingly assertive and influential in global affairs.

In the area of national rebranding, global partnerships also play a critical role. A national brand does not emerge by accident; it has to be designed, crafted, and marketed in a deliberate and painstaking way.

As the Minister of Information and National Orientation, my Ministry is deeply involved in this task, and we have been showing the required leadership.

I am pleased to disclose that, working in partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), we have launched the Nigeria Reputation Management Group (NRMG)—a partnership aimed at maximising positive national pride among Nigerians and promoting a positive global reputation in all spheres.

The NRMG has recently unveiled the Nigeria Global Reputation Management Project, managed by renowned branding experts and professionals, and you will hear much more about it in the coming weeks and months.

We have also designated October 15 every year as Nigeria Reputation Day, a special day to commemorate and raise awareness about national reputation.

This is also a good opportunity to let you all know that in 2026, Nigeria will be hosting, in Abuja, both the 2026 African Public Relations Association (APRA) Conference and the 2026 World Public Relations Forum (WPRF)—becoming only the second African country ever to host the WPRF, and the first ever to host both the APRA Conference and the WPRF in the same year.

Let me now highlight one of the reputational challenges we are currently confronting, which is a disinformation campaign falsely and maliciously alleging state-sponsored and targeted religious attacks and discrimination in Nigeria.

We have been very robust in our rebuttals, making it clear that these are despicable narratives being peddled by people who know nothing about Nigeria.

We need international friends and partners who know our country very well and understand our nuances and complexities, and who can add their voices to ours to present an accurate, believable and credible picture of the country.

We are not asking for a denial of our security challenges, which we’re dealing with boldly and decisively—no! Instead we are seeking to be fully understood and respected as a multi-religious country that is united against terrorism, banditry, extremism and other forms of insecurity.

I have no doubt that Nigeria is reclaiming lost ground at home and abroad under President Tinubu’s leadership. We will continue to forge and strengthen partnerships to underpin the progress we are making.

We welcome global partnerships from every corner of the world—individuals, private and public sector institutions, diaspora groups, multilateral blocs, governments, and many more.

We are a listening, engaging government, and we invite you to seek out more information about the fantastic things happening in Nigeria and to explore ways of partnering with us to take the transformation to the next level.

I thank you for listening. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Mohammed Idris, fnipr
Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation.
London, UK
25 October 2025