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Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to mobilise more resources to accelerate Africa’s industrialisation and economic transformation.
The President made the call on Tuesday while receiving a delegation from Afreximbank, led by its President and Chairman of the Board, Dr George Elombi, at the State House in Abuja.
Tinubu said Africa must move beyond discussions about development and focus on practical investments that will boost industries, create jobs, expand trade, and improve living standards across the continent.
“The conscience and the future of Africa depend on what you and your team can do and will do for Africa as a whole, and the time has come for us to start doing things together as Africans,” the President said.
He added that Africa should stop exporting raw materials without processing them.
“We have what it takes to build this continent. Do we continue to exploit and export raw materials without value addition? That answer is no,” Tinubu said.
The President highlighted Nigeria’s solid mineral resources, including lithium, and called on Afreximbank to provide investment guarantees that would support battery production and other manufacturing industries.
Tinubu also defended his administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and exchange rate reforms, describing them as necessary measures to reduce corruption and stabilise the economy.
Speaking on insecurity, the President said the creation of the Nigerian Ministry of Livestock Development was designed to turn the long-running farmer-herder conflict into an economic opportunity.
“I created the Livestock Ministry to create economic opportunities for Africans. The cotton, ginnery and garment industries are job creators,” he said.
He urged Afreximbank to work closely with the Bank of Agriculture to strengthen agricultural value chains, especially in cocoa, palm oil, and other key crops.
Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the administration’s economic diversification agenda is laying the foundation for long-term industrial growth through investments in manufacturing, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and the digital economy.
In his remarks, Afreximbank President Dr George Elombi thanked President Tinubu for supporting his emergence as the bank’s president.
Elombi disclosed that the bank has invested between 15 and 20 billion dollars in Nigeria over the past five years across sectors including trade, agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing.
He also announced that Afreximbank has committed $ 2 billion to support Nigeria’s cotton and garment industries.
The bank, he added, is also investing in major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Kano-Maradi Railway.
Elombi invited President Tinubu to visit the African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja, describing it as part of the bank’s efforts to reduce medical tourism in Africa.
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU TASKS AFREXIMBANK TO MOBILISE RESOURCES FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRIALISATION
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday tasked the leadership of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to intensify efforts to mobilise and deploy the… pic.twitter.com/DmSileDz9u
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) July 7, 2026
