As the the second edition of the African Raw Materials Summit (ARMS) 2026 opens in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh (SAN), has called for setting of national and continental targets to realise the 30 per cent value addition to raw materials before export as part of efforts to industrialise, create jobs and wealth.

Declaring open the second edition, Udeh said those targets should be set depending on peculiarities in each of the countries – capabilities and challenges. He said the 30 per cent value addition target could only be met with necessary related factors in place.

The theme of the 2020 Arms was “From African Feedstock to African Industry”. Udeh said the second edition served as forum for peer review and positive peer pressure to evaluate the the decisions reached during the maiden edition.

Udeh said listed some of the steps noNigeria had taken to meet its target including Bills to create National Research and Innovation Development Fund and amend the Establishment Act of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), as well as infrastructure upgrade and logistic improvement.

He assured that the Bill for amendment to RMRDC Act would soon be signed by President Bola Tinubu as it had been passed by National Assembly.

The Minister also called for the establishment of of Secretariat for the annual summit which can either be domicile in Nigeria or other country of the continent to document set targets and monitor their implementation.

In his welcome address, the Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said the council had designed, fabricated, and deployed pilot processing plants and industrial machinery, spanning mineral beneficiation units, high-grade medium concentration systems, agro-processing mills, and essential chemical extraction technologies, ensuring local manufacturers have affordable, locally adapted equipment to process Africa’s feedstock on African soil.

“To power this with intelligence, we have developed NISRA, Nigerian Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products, a comprehensive platform designed to map raw materials deposits, spatial availability, processing capacities, and manufacturing demand across borders.

“Therefore, local value addition is the indispensable engine that converts African continental free trade areas’ promise into genuine African prosperity”.

Ike-Muonso said that Nigeria is witnessing an industrial renaissance, championed by President Bola Tinubu.

He decried the situation where the continent dug the cobalt, but imported the batteries, harvested 69% of world’s cocoa, but imported the chocolates, mined the lithium, but bought back electric vehicles, exported its soil riches with jobs, wealth and the dreams of the youth.

“Today, in this hall, before several sovereign African nations gathered here, we declare that this era of historical extraction without local transformation is over. This year’s theme, From Africa Free Stock to Africa Factories, is a joint commitment to economic self-determination, ensuring Africa processes its raw material, raw material resources locally, and pours its raw materials into Africa’s finished goods with pride.

“Look across our continent and witness our immense endowment. The Democratic Republic of Congo powers the world’s clean energy transition, with 75% of global cobalt. While the lithium wells of Nasarawa, Kaduna, Zimbabwe, Mali, Ghana, and Namibia hold the key to the multi-trillion dollar global battery ecosystem, Nigeria also holds vast reserves of 37 billion barrels of crude oil, 210 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and an unmatched agricultural landscape. Yet, we cannot build a future on unprocessed raw exports”.

According to him, in 2025 alone, Nigeria exported billions in raw cocoa, cashew, and sesame seeds, immense wells left on foreign territories. The lesson is stark. The African continental free trade area gives us a 1.3 billion person market. But without local manufacturing capacity, it is merely an invitation for foreign goods.