…hosts African Minerals Strategy Group in Abuja,
President Bola Tinubu has called for African unity to protect the continent’s mineral wealth, saying governments must prioritize local value addition and stop foreign interests from exploiting Africa’s critical minerals.
The President spoke while receiving a delegation from the African Minerals Strategy Group at the State House, Abuja. The group brings together African ministers of mining and solid minerals. Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Development Minister, Dele Alake, chairs the group, with Tinubu serving as Grand Patron.
“We must put an end to exploitation,” Tinubu said. He stressed that Africa should no longer allow its raw materials to be extracted without creating jobs, value, and technological growth on the continent.
He urged member states to boost investment in research, development, and mineral processing. Africa’s vast resources, he said, should drive industrialization, economic growth, and shared prosperity.
The President argued that exporting raw minerals without local beneficiation must give way to policies that support domestic processing, technology transfer, and value chains that keep wealth in African economies.
Tinubu also called for stronger collaboration among African countries to build a common framework for research and innovation in mining, noting it would help raise living standards across the continent.
Earlier, Minister Dele Alake praised the President’s backing for reforms in Nigeria’s mining sector under the Renewed Hope Agenda, especially moves toward local value addition and economic diversification.
