Senate mandates 30% minimum value addition in raw materials processing

…moves to pass value-addition bill this week

The Nigerian Senate is set to pass the 30% Minimum Value-Addition Bill this week, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The Bill, currently under consideration, aims to mandate that no raw material of Nigerian origin shall be exported without undergoing a minimum of 30% local value addition.

Speaking at the Africa Raw Materials Summit 2025 in Abuja, Akpabio, represented by Abbas Aminu Iya, a Senator, emphasised the Senate’s commitment to ensuring that Africa leverages the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to foster intra-African processing, technology transfer, and market expansion.

Akpabio noted that the extractive model fueled by Colonial legacies and sustained by global asymmetries, must give way to a new paradigm rooted in local processing, regional integration, and sovereign economic vision.

“We must reject the historic pattern in which Africa merely supplies inputs while others reap the benefits of innovation, branding, and global market control,” he said

The Senate President called for the empowerment of African entrepreneurs, SMEs, Cooperatives, and young innovators to turn mineral wealth into exportable machinery, agro-resources into packaged goods, and research into revenue.

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He also urged African pension funds, sovereign wealth institutions, and multilateral development banks to direct capital into processing infrastructure, industrial parks, and green energy corridors linked to raw materials.

Akpabio echoed the call for the adoption of an Abuja Declaration on Raw Materials and Industrial Transformation in Africa, which would serve as a living charter for Executive action, Legislative alignment, and investment mobilisation.

Nnanyelugu Ike-Muonso, Professor and Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), commended the Senate’s commitment to value addition and industrialisation.

He described the summit as a historic convergence of minds, mission, and momentum that would catalyse a paradigm shift in Africa’s resource landscape.

Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, emphasised the importance of value addition, saying it is “the engine of youth empowerment, SME growth, and economic sovereignty.”

He noted that the Ministry is deploying digital tools, traceability infrastructure, and research-to-industry pathways to strengthen intra-African trade under AfCFTA.

The Summit is also planned to inspire aligned action across the continent, promoting industrialisation, value addition, and prosperity on African soil.

Ruth Tene Natsa

Ruth Tene, Assistant Editor, Agric/Solid Minerals/INEC Ruth Tene is an award-winning journalist with over 15 years experience in developmental reporting across several newsrooms, as a reporter, editor and other managerial roles. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from the University of Maiduguri among several other certifications She has attended several trainings and certifications both locally and internationally and has been recognized for her impactful work in humanitarian reporting, receiving the Gold Award for Humanitarian Services from the Amazing Grace Foundation. She is also a recipient of the Home Alliance Fellowship, reflecting her commitment to fostering a more humane, safer and more sustainable planet. An active member of professional journalism bodies, Ruth is affiliated with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), and the Agricultural Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ACAN), where she continues to advocate for excellence, ethical reporting, and development-focused journalism.