Akpabio: No Raw Material Should Leave Nigeria Without 30% Value Addition

Before any raw material may be exported from Nigeria, it must undergo at least 30% local value addition, a requirement that Senate President Godswill Akpabio has promised the National Assembly will approve.
When Akpabio hosted representatives of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) at his Abuja office on Wednesday, he made the statement. The delegation was led by Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, the RMRDC’s director general.
As per a press statement issued by Jackson Udom, his personal assistant on media, the Senate President characterized the proposed modification to the RMRDC Act as “a moral compass” that might serve as a guide for other African countries, in addition to being crucial for Nigeria’s economic advancement.

“We would have had a factory for those chains and jobs for our people outside of what farmers do if any of the values were added in Nigeria before exporting them,” Akpabio stated.

“Technological innovations and changes would have also occurred.”

Akpabio stressed the significance of coordinating Nigeria’s R&D efforts with legislative support in order to strengthen value chains across industries.

He continued, “It is very regrettable that even though we grow cocoa in Nigeria, we ultimately import the same cocoa products from outside the nation at a higher cost and without any inputs.”

Basic Resources and the Deficit in Solid Minerals
Akpabio praised Senate Deputy Chief Whip Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi for bringing the amendment bill to the Senate’s notice, pointing out that the solid minerals sector is one of the most severely impacted by the absence of value addition.

“The solid mineral sector is the most pitiful since we don’t add any value before we sell it,” he stated.

As a result, it is sold at a very low price, and if you compare it to 2025, you will realize that Africa’s development is still in its infancy when it comes to identifying and utilizing the potential that exists inside its borders.

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“Ignorance is the only thing causing poverty to bite harder.”

The council was urged by Akpabio to launch a grassroots initiative to inform Nigerians, particularly the younger generation, on the value and economic potential of solid minerals and raw materials.

“Sound minerals and raw materials should be taught to Nigerians and secondary school students so they can identify them wherever they find them,” he stated.

“We must not permit this to go on. Nigeria would have taken the initiative to make sure that any raw material that is to be exported from the nation has at least 30% added value if we were to help you pass the bill and receive the president’s signature.

Previously, Ike-Muonso, the director-general of RMRDC, thanked everyone for the meeting and said he hoped the National Assembly would support the legislation to support Nigeria’s industrial base.

“We’ve seen reforms like the Tax Administration Bills, but the one that worries us the most is the bill to amend the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act. Its main goal is to make sure that we don’t export raw materials out of the country without at least 30% of value-added,” he continued.

Because Nigeria is a continent leader, this measure is undoubtedly the most important one in Africa and will transform the country’s future.

Later this month, the Senate President will attend the Africa Raw Materials Summit, he also invited.