By Dele Ogbodo/Funmi Adams
The President of the Senate, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday called on Africa countries to adopt the Abuja Declaration on Raw Materials and Industrial Transformation in Africa.
While addressing stakeholders at the first Africa’s Raw Materials conference in Abuja, he said the declaration should not merely reside in summit communiqués but become a living charter—a reference for executive action, legislative alignment, and investment mobilization.
“Let it guide our representations at the African Union, the G20, and global trade forums where Africa’s voice must no longer be that of a supplier, but that of a producer.” He said
It is with deep humility, honour, and a profound sense of responsibility that I welcome you all—distinguished ministers, scholars, industry leaders, and partners from across Africa and the world—to this historic gathering in the capital city of Abuja for the inaugural Africa Raw Materials Summit.
Represented by Senator Abbas Aminu Ilya, he reiterates his commitment and advocacy for legislation that will catalyze a new industrial era for our continent.
He said: “The theme of this summit: “Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape,” could not be more urgent or timely.
Speaking further, he added: “Africa, a continent immensely rich in mineral, agricultural, and energy resources, remains a paradox of abundance amidst underdevelopments.
“We extract, yet others manufacture. We export in raw form yet import with added value. This extractive model—fuelled by colonial legacies and sustained by global asymmetries—must now give way to a new paradigm rooted in local processing, regional integration, and sovereign economic vision.”
Akpabio, said the Senate has resolved to be proactive in addressing this structural imbalance, adding: “Is in this spirit that I reaffirm our full legislative backing for the 30% Minimum Value-Addition Bill, currently under consideration.”
According to him, the groundbreaking bill mandates that no raw material of Nigerian origin shall be exported without undergoing a minimum of 30% local value addition—whether through processing, refining, packaging, or industrial transformation.
his legislation is not intended to stifle trade; rather, it is designed to ignite domestic enterprise, create jobs, attract capital, and build resilient value chains that benefit our people, he added.
“This bold initiative aligns with a broader continental vision. We must reject the historic pattern in which Africa merely supplies inputs while others reap the benefits of innovation, branding, and global market control.
“The future of Africa lies not beneath our soil—but in what we do with what lies beneath. And what we do must be backed by law, driven by policy, and sustained by enterprise.
“We recognize that legislation alone is not enough. Institutions must be empowered. I commend the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) for its strategic leadership in research, industrial innovation, and national resource mapping.
“Under its capable Director General, the Council has become a model of what is possible when research meets industrial application.
“It is my hope that this model will be replicated across African nations, with regional centres of excellence established to share data, technologies, and best practices in raw material development.
“As legislators, we are equally committed to ensuring that Africa fully leverages the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to foster intra-African processing, technology transfer, and market expansion.
“The Nigerian Senate is prepared to ratify and support any continental or regional agreement that promotes beneficiation, local content, environmental sustainability, and inclusive industrial growth.”
While advocating for stakeholders’ collaboration, he said no government can do this alone, explaining that the task of the Senate is to empower African entrepreneurs, SMEs, cooperatives, and young innovators who will turn mineral wealth into exportable machinery, agro-resources into packaged goods, and research into revenue.
He said: “We must also actively engage our diaspora—Africa’s sixth region—who bring with them not only remittances, but technical knowledge, financing models, and global market access.
“We invite African pension funds, sovereign wealth institutions, and multilateral development banks to direct capital into processing infrastructure, industrial parks, and green energy corridors linked to our raw materials. Let us build not just a resource-rich Africa, but a resource-empowered Africa. An Africa that is environmentally responsible, economically competitive, and strategically united.
“In the Senate, we are already aligning our legislative priorities to ensure environmental sustainability, fair trade, and industrial growth. We are drafting laws to support climate-smart mining, regenerative manufacturing, and the circular economy. This is our commitment—not as a gesture, but as a generational mandate.
“As I close, let me remind us of the timeless words of Kwame Nkrumah: “We face neither East nor West, we face forward.” Today, I say: we face inward—to unlock our capacity; and we face upward—to realize our destiny. Let this summit not end in applause but in accountability. Let the resolutions we adopt here ripple through Africa’s boardrooms, laboratories, trade ministries, and parliaments.”
In his remark, the DG, Raw Materials Research Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, expressed his belief in Africa’s boundless promise, adding: “I welcome you to the Africa Raw Materials Summit 2025, a historic convergence of minds, mission, and momentum that will catalyse a paradigm shift in our continent.
“Today, in the heart of Africa, we gather not merely for a summit, but for a solemn declaration: Africa shall no longer be the warehouse of raw potential, but the workshop of refined prosperity.
“This summit is our moment, where Africa reclaims its narrative, redefines its destiny, and rededicates itself to transforming raw wealth into real wealth, from the soil beneath our feet through the genius within our people.
“This summit is not just a dialogue; it is Africa’s proclamation of industrial independence, a renewed consciousness of authentically becoming producers of value rather than exporters of potential.
“President Thabo Mbeki once warned, “Africa’s growth will only be sustainable when we process what we produce and add value before we export.” That truth burns brighter than ever.
“At this juncture, may I cease opportunity to appreciate President Bola Tinubu, on his commitment to revitalization the raw material subsector of the Nigeria economy with laudable initiatives, a feat that has birth the convergence of this timely summit indeed, his astute commitment to the economic prosperity of our country is unrivalled.
“Here in Nigeria, under Tinubu, the Nigeria First Policy is lighting the flames of an industrial renaissance, a Renewed Hope rooted in local transformation, inclusive prosperity, and strategic value addition. He powerfully declared two years ago that, “A situation in which the raw minerals are extracted from our countries, exported, refined, and sold to us as finished products merely consolidates the foundations of our misery and pushes us further down the depths of underdevelopment.” That cycle should end now.”
He said his team has embraced this call with zeal and measurable resolve at the Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), a statutory agency with a primary mandate on raw materials research and utilization.
The DG, said: “Since the inception of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, his policy support has made our benchmark on value addition very clear. With the proposed bill at the National Assembly, no less than 30% value addition to every raw material before it crosses our borders. Minimum requirement is not an aspiration, It is a standard. Aligned with the thresholds of the ECOWAS
“Trade Liberalization Scheme, similar schemes from other sub-regional blocs and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is our blueprint for a truly industrialized, interconnected, and prosperous Africa.
“At RMRDC, we are not waiting for miracles. We are building models. Our Data-Driven Raw Materials Information System (DARMIS), the first in Nigeria, is a digital transformation engine. With precision, it maps our raw material resources, traces value chains, and provides real-time intelligence for investors, producers, and policymakers.
“From talc in Niger State to phosphate in Sokoło State. From the Coal in Enugu State to the Limestones in Cross River State. From the lithium in Nassarawa to the granite in Ekiti State. We know what we have and more importantly, what we must do with it. Insight before investment. Data before deployment.
“To all Africans, we say: This is a replicable revolution. Adopt it. Adapt it. Advance it. Let us build a raw materials data-smart, production-driven, and proudly self-reliant continent.
“Therefore, this makes this Summit an imperative for Africa. The theme of this summit, “Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape”, is not a slogan. It is a clarion call to shape our fate with our own hands. From the industrial clusters of Hawassa, to Tangier, Tema, Aba, and Kampala’s powerhouses. Africa is stirring. Let this summit be the forge for casting new value chains, birthing catalytic partnerships, and the next trillion-dollar industry by Africans, for Africa.
“Also, I specially thank Chief Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology of Nigeria. His leadership has been the powerhouse of RMRDC’s vision and the success of this summit
“I equally recognize my mentor, Senator John Owan Enoh, the Minister of State for Industries, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, whose steadfast support amplifies this continental cause.”
