By Victoria Victor, Adisa Halima
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC says, a proposed law requiring at least 30% local processing of raw materials before export could create more than 1.2 million skilled jobs within five years,
Director-General RMRDC, Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said the measure could also help conserve foreign exchange and increase the contribution of manufacturing to Nigeria’s economy.
Professor Ike-Muonso spoke in Abuja on Tuesday, at a briefing ahead of the second Africa Raw Materials Summit, scheduled for October under the theme “From African Feedstock to African Factories.” and is expected to attract about 1,000 delegates.
He said President Bola Tinubu had returned the bill to the National Assembly with proposed amendments, which had now been addressed, and expected to return to the president for assent.
Under the proposed law, raw materials extracted in Nigeria would have to undergo a minimum level of processing before they could be exported.
Professor Ike-Muonso said Nigeria had more than $582.4bn in documented non-renewable natural resources but continued to lose economic value by exporting unprocessed commodities and importing finished products.
“Africa needed to move away from what he described as a “pit-to-port” model towards processing raw materials and manufacturing finished products on the continent”.
The 2026 summit will focus on local value addition, logistics, the circular economy, regional supply chains, technology commercialisation and access to capital.
The RMRDC also plans to promote stronger regional supply chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, as part of efforts to expand intra-African trade and industrial production.
Also speaking, Head of the Africa Raw Materials Summit Secretariat, Rachel Kofso, said the event was designed to encourage African countries to process more of their raw materials within the continent.
She disclosed that more than 25 countries had already expressed interest in the 2026 summit, with registration still ongoing.
The RMRDC Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications, Chinyere Nnamdi Anum, added that the summit would bring together government officials, researchers, academics and industry representatives to discuss ways of increasing local value addition.
Edited by Julian Osamoto
