From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, has stated that the raw materials summit will strengthen regional trade and industrial processing linkage.
Ike-Munonso stated this ,in Abuja,at a press briefing ahead of the Maiden Edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit slated for May 20-22nd, 2025.
He stressed that if Nigeria does not industrialise now ,it risks becoming spectator in a future built on the resources exported without value addition.
According to him, the summit has three core objectives, firstly, it is designed to mobilize continental consensus around the urgency of industrializing our resource base through innovation and value addition. Second, it seeks to deepen alignment with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and strengthen regional trade and industrial processing linkages. Third, the summit aims to forge concrete and actionable partnerships among governments, private sector players, researchers, and development financiers that will drive sustainable transformation, not just policy pronouncements.
“We risk becoming spectators in a future built on the resources we exported without value. Let us allow this summit to mark a turning point in our collective history. Let it be recorded that in Abuja, in May 2025, Africa made the decision to stop exporting its future and instead chose to shape .
The DG pointed that Over 1,000 top-level delegates and distinguished guests from across the African continent have confirmed their participation including senior ministers.
He further reiterated that the Raw Materials Research and Development Council is not just advocating for change, but building the institutional foundations to drive it.
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