From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
Director General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Munonso said Nigeria is naturally the leader in the African raw materials sector.
Ike-Munonso stated this in Abuja at the closing ceremony of the African raw materials summit.
He added that stallholders in the summit have agreed to approach the African Union to ensure and manage the issues of political will as it affects natural resources.
“Nigeria is naturally the leader in Africa. We are trying to wake up the rest of the continent to the issue pertaining to the most important endowment that God has given to us which is raw materials.
There is a need for the rest of Africa and Nigeria in particular to wake up to the processing and adding of value to our raw materials up to a certain stage before export. And to also launch the implementation framework.
We started this with the African Development Bank in October last year, and working with them, we projected the ten-year roadmap for raw materials management in Nigeria, which we also launched through this summit.
It is also important to state that there is unanimity in the African raw materials summit to approach the African Union to ensure and manage the issues of political will and mobilise the rest of the continent to join the line that Nigeria is already trending.”
Speaking on the just-launched ten-year roadmap for Nigeria’s raw materials, he said it is aimed at transforming Nigeria’s raw material sector, with a target of achieving 30 per cent value addition before export.
He added that the implementation of the roadmap will improve the value of Nigeria’s raw materials before exports, citing benefits such as job creation and domestic manufacturing growth.