The Senate says 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.
Senate President, Goodwill Akpabio, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open the Africa Raw Materials Summit.
He said the Nigerian Senate has resolved to be proactive in addressing what he called structural imbalance, reaffirming full legislative backing for the 30 per cent Minimum Value-Addition Bill, currently under consideration.
According to him, the bill is not intended to stifle trade; rather designed to ignite domestic enterprise, create jobs, attract capital, and build resilient value chains that benefit Nigerians, adding that the bold initiative aligns with a broader continental vision.
Akpabio said the historic pattern in which Africa merely supplies inputs while others reap the benefits of innovation, branding, and global market control must be rejected.
He described the proposed law as a ‘moral compass’ for other African countries, assured that the bill would be passed this week and transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
He said, “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.
“In the Nigerian Senate, we have resolved to be proactive in addressing this structural imbalance. It is in this spirit that I reaffirm our full legislative backing for the 30% Minimum Value-Addition Bill, currently under consideration. The bill will be passed in the Senate this week.”
In his remarks, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, described the theme of the summit, ‘Shaping the future of Africa’s resource landscape’ as apt, given the current state of Africa’s resource utilisation and the need for strategic planning to ensure sustainable development.
He emphasised the importance of harnessing Africa’s vast resources to drive economic growth, industrialisation, and innovation.
“Africa stands at a defining moment. For too long, we have exported raw potential and imported dependency. The theme of this summit, ‘Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape’, is a continental call to action. A call to industrialise, add value, and create prosperity on African soil.
“Value addition is not optional—it is essential. It is the engine of youth empowerment, SME growth, and economic sovereignty. The Ministry is proud to support initiatives like Nigeria’s 30 per cent Minimum Value-Addition Policy, and through this summit, we aim to inspire aligned action across the continent,” Nnaji said.
Earlier, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said value addition will build globally competitive African brands rooted in our soil and sweat, deepen regional value chains and ignite intra-African trade in intermediate and finished goods and keep the wealth of Africa within Africa.
Ike-Muonso highlighted the imperative of the summit, noting that it was a moment where Africa could reclaim its narrative, redefine its destiny, and rededicate itself to transforming raw wealth into real wealth, from the soil beneath the feet through the genius within the people of the continent.
“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,” he said.
