Why Tinubu’s re-election critical to industrial transformation – RMRDC DG

The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has given reasons why President Bola Tinubu’s re-election is critical to consolidating Nigeria’s industrial transformation, attracting investments and creating jobs through local processing of the country’s abundant natural resources.

Ike-Muonso also said continuity in the administration’s industrial policies would accelerate the establishment of processing plants and manufacturing clusters, enabling Nigeria to move away from exporting unprocessed commodities towards producing finished goods.

Speaking Monday in Abuja while delivering his welcome address at the second Africa Raw Materials Summit 2026, themed: From African Feedstock to African Factories, the RMRDC boss said major industrial projects, including battery-refining complexes and heavy manufacturing facilities, required sustained policy implementation to achieve their full potential.

He warned that policy uncertainty could undermine investments and delay the country’s transition from a raw material exporter to a manufacturing powerhouse.

“To solidify these gains and complete the transition from feedstock exporter to industrial power, we must sustain this momentum, maintain policy predictability, and support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visionary leadership for a consolidated second term to finish the job he so courageously started,” he said.

Ike-Muonso said Nigeria could no longer afford to export its natural resources without substantial local processing, noting that the practice deprived the country of employment opportunities, industrial expertise and wealth that could be generated through domestic manufacturing.

He identified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which provides access to a continental market of about 1.3 billion people, as a major opportunity for expanding manufacturing and intra-African trade.

However, he warned that the agreement would deliver limited benefits if African countries lacked the manufacturing capacity to compete with imported finished products.

The RMRDC director-general identified the proposed 30 per cent Raw Materials Value Addition Bill as a key instrument for strengthening domestic processing and reducing dependence on raw material exports.

The proposed legislation would require at least 30 per cent of primary processing and beneficiation to take place in Nigeria before raw materials are exported.

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Enoh, also called for the passage of the proposed legislation, saying it would strengthen domestic manufacturing and ensure that Nigeria captured more value from its natural resources.

Enoh spoke at the summit, where government officials, industry leaders, development partners and other stakeholders discussed strategies for expanding local processing and manufacturing across Africa.

He argued that Africa possessed abundant natural resources but lacked sufficient industrial capacity to transform them into finished products, resulting in the loss of jobs, technical expertise and substantial economic value to other countries.

“For me, this subject is beyond a subject. It is like a summons to Nigerians and Africans to wake up the raw material giant that Africa is,” the minister said.

Citing lithium deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo, cocoa production in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, and copper deposits in Zambia, Enoh said the continent had the resources to support large-scale industrial development.

He urged development partners to increase investments in processing facilities and manufacturing infrastructure, stressing that industrial policies should be measured by tangible results, including factories established, investments secured, jobs created and locally manufactured products.

Enoh said the Federal Government was strengthening Nigeria’s industrial policy framework, adding that periodic implementation reports would help monitor progress and ensure that policy commitments translated into measurable economic outcomes.

Ike-Muonso also cited the Federal Government’s Nigeria First Policy, introduced in May 2025, and the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025 as complementary initiatives to stimulate domestic production through public procurement, local sourcing and improved industrial competitiveness.

According to him, more than N644.9 billion was mobilised through the Bank of Industry in 2025, supporting the creation and retention of approximately 1.7 million direct and indirect jobs across key sectors.

He said the RMRDC was translating government policies and research into practical industrial applications through the development of processing technologies and equipment suited to Nigeria’s raw materials and manufacturing needs.

The council, he added, had designed, fabricated and deployed pilot processing plants and industrial machinery for mineral beneficiation, lithium concentration, agricultural processing and chemical extraction.

Ike-Muonso also highlighted the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products, a platform designed to map raw material deposits, availability, processing capacity and manufacturing demand.

He said the system would connect resource owners, researchers, investors and manufacturers, while partnerships with international research institutions and domestic development finance institutions would support the commercialisation of locally developed technologies.

The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, said Nigeria’s automotive industry could benefit significantly from policies encouraging local sourcing of components and materials.

He identified batteries, plastics, copper and other industrial inputs as materials that could support domestic vehicle production, particularly the emerging electric vehicle industry.

Osanipin called for stronger collaboration among universities, research institutions and private companies to commercialise research findings, noting that many innovations developed by Nigerian universities had failed to reach the market.

He stressed that access to raw materials alone would not guarantee industrial growth without appropriate standards, processing capacity and partnerships to turn research into commercially viable products.

Similarly, the Director-General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Prof. Olusegun Ige, called for stronger cooperation between the agency and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to identify mineral deposits and improve their processing and utilisation.

The Director-General of the Pan-African Alliance for Small and Medium Industries, Dr. Henry Emejeo, described local value addition as essential to Africa’s economic independence and industrial development.

He urged African governments to prioritise mineral beneficiation, establish clear legal frameworks to discourage the export of unprocessed resources and strengthen intra-African trade.

The Minister of Mineral Resources of Sudan, Dr. Dayan Tahar, identified local processing and refining, reliable energy, improved market access and measures to tackle mineral smuggling as priorities for developing Africa’s mineral sector.

He also called for transparent investment procedures, better economic data and stronger cooperation among governments, universities, industries and regulatory authorities.

Ike-Muonso urged African governments, investors and research institutions to use the summit to secure concrete industrial agreements rather than limit their engagements to policy declarations.

He proposed a continental raw materials value-addition compact, an industrial investment pipeline, a shared raw materials intelligence platform and regional value chains supported by AfCFTA.

The summit attracted representatives of African governments, the Economic Community of West African States, development partners, civil society organisations, industry stakeholders and heads of ministries, departments and agencies.

Participants called for sustained political commitment, increased investment in processing infrastructure and stronger regional partnerships to transform Africa’s natural resource wealth into competitive industries, finished products and sustainable employment opportunities.