Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
The Director General of the Raw Materials and Research Development Council (RMRDC)), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has disclosed that when signed into law, the Raw Materials 30% Value Addition bill will help to harness Nigeria’s over $582 billion natural resources deposits
Prof. Ike-Muonso made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja at a press conference on the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit 2026, coming up on October 19-20 this year
Ike-Muonso said Nigerian soil holds over $582 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources. And that it is so all across Africa.
“In Nigeria alone, our soil holds over 582.4 billion US dollars in documented non-renewable natural resources. Across Africa’s 54 nations, our endowment of critical transition minerals, agricultural raw materials, and industrial feedstock is virtually peerless.
“Yet our vulnerability to external commodity price shocks persists, our currencies face avoidable pressure, and our youth seek jobs that our raw commodity export model shifts overseas.” he emphasised
Speaking further he said, “on October 19th and 20th, 2026, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, will host the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit, ARMS 2026, under the defining mandate, from Africa feedstock to African factories.
“This summit marks an inflection point where policy, capital, technology, and political will align to ensure that what is extracted from African soil is transformed on African soil. To appreciate ARMS 2026 trajectory, we must revisit where this journey began.
Speaking on the impact the 30% value addition bill will have on the nation’s economy when signed into law, he said,
“This legislation serves as the backbone for domestic industrialization, structured to generate over 1.2 million skilled jobs within five years, save millions in foreign exchange through strategic import substitution, rebuild national foreign reserves, and expand manufacturing contribution to GDP.
We have to refer to this law for us to attain the prosperity we envisage as a nation.”
“We finalised a historic South-South Technology Transfer Partnership with the National Innovation Center for Excellence, NICE in Shanghai, China, facilitated by the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations, establishing direct pathways to commercialise local research and development.” he added
He used the opportunity to call for a more integrated chain of supply within the African continent saying, “true industrial longevity, however, cannot rely on primary extraction alone. It demands a dedicated commitment to a modern circular economy. A serious global competitive industrial ecosystem wastes nothing. Processed chemicals, reagents from one region can directly supply pharmaceutical plants in another, while refined oils feed assembly and fabrication operations across neighboring economic blocs. This depth of regional trade insulates the continent from volatile global supply chain disruptions while fueling regional wealth generation.”
In her remarks the Chairman of the Africa Raw Materials Summit, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Mrs. Rachael Kotso, said, “the summit is continental effort to shift from the way we have been doing things in the Raw materials industry by exporting raw materials without adding value. We are now seeking a platform where raw materials will get value addition in the African continent before they are exported out of the continent.
In her welcome address the Director Corporate Affairs, RMRDC, Chinyere Nnamdi-Anum, said, the media is a major stakeholder in this raw materials value addition journey and urged the media to help disseminate the message to Africa and the world