By Adaora Adibe
With just days to go before the commencement of the much-anticipated Africa Raw Materials Summit, the Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso, has briefed members of the press on the Council’s readiness and the significance of the summit for Nigeria and the African continent.
Speaking at a media briefing held at the RMRDC headquarters in Abuja, Professor Ike-Muonso stated that the summit, scheduled for May 20–22, 2025 at Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel, with the theme, “Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape,” is far more than just another high-level gathering. But a continental call to action, a moment for Africa to rise and take its rightful place as a global centre for industrial innovation, value creation, and resource sovereignty.
Expressing the importance, Prof Nnanyelugo Stated, “The summit itself has three core objectives. First, it is designed to mobilize continental consensus around the urgency of industrializing our resource base through innovation and value addition. Second, it seeks to deepen alignment with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and strengthen regional trade and industrial processing linkages. Third, the summit aims to forge concrete and actionable partnerships among governments, private sector players, researchers, and development financiers that will drive sustainable transformation, not just policy pronouncements’.
The DG gave his assurances to all stakeholders and members of the press that the Council have taken every necessary step to ensure that this summit is seamless, secure, and highly successful. Noting that Over 1,000 top-level delegates and distinguished guests from across the African continent have confirmed their participation. These include senior ministers and high-ranking officials from countries such as Ghana, South Africa, and several others, as well as top representatives from their Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, international financial institutions and corporate partners etc
Professor Ike-Muonso emphasized the Council’s commitment to using the summit as a platform to drive policy reforms and regional partnerships, especially around the recently proposed legislation that mandates at least 30% value addition to raw materials before export.
“Central to this transformation is the proposed 30 Percent Value Addition Mandate Bill, which the Raw Materials Research and Development Council has vigorously championed and is now under consideration at the National Assembly. This bill seeks to mandate that no less than 30 percent of all raw materials be locally processed before export. It is not just a policy initiative; it is strategic economic common sense and a form of national defence. Through this bill, we aim to stem the tide of capital flight caused by unprocessed exports, stimulate local processing industries, create sustainable jobs across multiple sectors, enhance our competitiveness in global markets, and build a strong, self-reliant African industrial base”, he stated.
In response to questions from journalists, the DG stated that the issue of enforcement of any raw material enacted law would be properly followed up and ensure the adoption of a continental framework for raw materials processing and the strengthening of cross-border industrial cooperation. He also called on the media to play a key role in amplifying the summit’s objectives to the wider public.
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Professor Ike-Muonso concluded, saying that it is Africa’s moment, especially as the world is undergoing a green and digital transformation, and the raw materials needed to power that future are beneath Africa. He observed that if action is not taking now for industrialize now, Africa may risk becoming spectators in a future built on the resources exported without value addition.
