Tinubu urges Africa to process minerals locally after UNGA roundtable

President Bola Tinubu has urged African countries to stop exporting raw minerals without processing them locally, warning that the continent cannot keep supplying materials for other economies while mineral communities remain poor.

Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, spoke on Monday at the third Africa Minerals Strategy Group high-level roundtable on critical minerals development in Africa. The meeting was held in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The roundtable was convened and chaired by Tinubu alongside the AMSG chairman and Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake. Its theme focused on moving Africa from raw resources to wealth through mineral value addition, data control, financing and critical minerals security.

Tinubu said African countries should work together so the continent can shift from being a supplier of raw minerals to a base for processing, manufacturing and value addition. He said global demand for clean energy, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing had made Africa’s critical minerals central to global supply chains.

He also warned against African countries weakening one another through lower royalties, weak local-content rules and excessive concessions. In his view, cooperation would give African markets more scale, improve industrial links and strengthen the continent’s negotiating position.

The president pointed to Nigeria’s mining reforms, including plans to require local value addition for new mining licences, strengthen geological data, organise artisanal miners into cooperatives and fight illegal mining.

He said Nigeria’s mining revenue rose from about N6bn in 2023 to more than N38bn in 2024, and to between N68.1bn and N70bn in 2025. He also cited lithium-processing capacity in Nasarawa State as an example of the kind of industrial investment the government wants to attract.

Tinubu said partnerships with outside countries should be based on mutual benefit, fair market access and technology transfer. He asked AMSG member countries to speak with one voice and said any continental declaration adopted at the meeting should be backed by timelines, financing and public accountability.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard