The Director General of Nigeria’s Raw Materials Research and Development Council, (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has projected that the proposed 30 per cent mandatory value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export can generate more than 1.2 million skilled jobs within five years.
Prof. Ike-Muonso said at a media briefing ahead of the second Africa Raw Materials Summit, ARMS 2026 in Abuja that the proposed measure would also promote import substitution, conserve foreign exchange and strengthen local manufacturing.
According to him, the proposed Raw Materials 30% Mandatory Value Addition Bill seeks to establish a statutory minimum of 30 per cent domestic value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.
The Director General, who disclosed that the bill is awaiting presidential assent, explained that the projected job creation is one of the expected benefits of implementing the proposed legislation, which forms part of efforts to shift Nigeria from exporting low-value primary commodities to higher-value industrial production.
He stated that Nigeria should process the over $582.4 billion worth of documented non-renewable natural resources locally to boost manufacturing and create additional economic opportunities.
Ike-Muonso said that Africa should move away from the “pit-to-port” model, in which raw materials are exported while finished products are imported at higher costs.
“What is extracted from African soil must increasingly be transformed on African soil,” he said.
He said ARMS 2026 would attract more than 1,800 delegates from all 54 African countries, alongside investors, manufacturers, technology companies and other industrial stakeholders.
The summit will focus on logistics and infrastructure, policy and value addition, circular economy and waste industrialisation, AfCFTA regional value chains, and technology commercialisation and capital linkage.
“Nigeria alone has over $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, while other African countries also possessed substantial deposits of critical minerals, agricultural commodities and industrial feedstock.
The summit, scheduled for October 19 and 20 has as its theme, “From African Feedstock to African Factories.”
GIK/APA