President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on African countries to unite in protecting the continent’s vast mineral wealth and ensuring that critical minerals contribute directly to Africa’s industrialisation, prosperity and technological advancement.
Speaking on Tuesday while receiving a delegation of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tinubu said African nations must work together to prevent the continued exploitation of their natural resources by foreign interests.
The President, who serves as the Grand Patron of AMSG, stressed the need for member countries to strengthen their bargaining power in the global minerals market and move away from the export of raw materials without local value addition.
“We must put an end to exploitation,” Tinubu said. “It is our responsibility to collaborate and cooperate to ensure that these metals and minerals bring value to us, bring technology to us, and enhance the quality of life and prosperity of our people.”
He noted that Africa possesses enormous mineral wealth that should be strategically harnessed to drive industrialisation, create jobs and accelerate economic transformation across the continent.
According to the President, the era of exporting raw minerals without processing must give way to a model that promotes local industries, technology transfer and value chains capable of retaining wealth within Africa.
Tinubu also advocated increased investment in research, development and refining capacity across the continent, urging African countries to centralise discussions on mineral development and leverage their resources to build knowledge-based economies.
Earlier, the Chairman of AMSG and Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, commended the President for his leadership and commitment to local value addition in the mining sector.
Alake said Tinubu’s policies under the Renewed Hope Agenda had inspired several African countries to adopt measures aimed at ensuring that mineral beneficiation benefits Africans directly.
“You charged us to ensure that local value addition is the pivot around which all the objectives of this organisation revolve,” Alake told the President. “Today, local value addition is reverberating all over Africa.”
He disclosed that some member countries had already banned the export of raw minerals as part of efforts to maximise value from their natural resources.
Alake further informed the President that AMSG members were in Abuja for the fifth edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), themed “One Africa, One Resource Vision.”
The summit is expected to promote beneficiation, industrialisation and strategic cooperation among African countries, with the goal of positioning the continent as a major player in the global critical minerals value chain.
AMSG, a forum of African ministers responsible for mining and solid minerals development, remains committed to advancing policies that increase the value and revenue Africa derives from its mineral resources, Alake added.
