On 29th of January 2026, the American Business Council Nigeria joined the Commercial Investment Partnership meeting hosted by the Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, led the Nigerian team, while the Deputy Assistant Secretary Bradley McKinney led the U.S. team with Keith Heffern, Charge d’ Affaire, Consul General Rick Swart, Jason Hafemeister, Acting Associate Administrator, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Heather
Lanigan Regional Director for SSA at U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA); Julie Marie LeBlanc, U.S. Commercial Counselor and Christine H. Counselor, the Economic Counselor. The two leads noted that Nigeria and the U.S. remain natural business partners and that bilateral initiatives such as the CIP offer opportunities to further advance this partnership. The Secretariat noted at the reception that the council is committed to working with both governments on this and similar initiative, as they are critical to improving the business environment for the private sector. She used the opportunity to thank Tolaram and Chevron for sponsoring the event. The Secretariat also joined the USNC, led by Terence McCulley, for the dinner hosted on the margins of the CIP.
