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Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for stronger cooperation among African countries to end raw mineral exports and ensure the continent captures more value from its natural resources.
Tinubu made the call on Tuesday in New York, United States, at the third Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting, convened and chaired by Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima and AMSG Chairman and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, focused on mineral value addition, data sovereignty, innovative financing and critical minerals security.
In an address delivered by Shettima, Tinubu said Africa must move beyond being a supplier of raw materials to developing local processing, manufacturing and technology capacity.
“For generations, Africa has furnished the materials of prosperity elsewhere. Our duty is to ensure that the future being fashioned from African minerals has room for African ambition,” he said.
The President said mineral-rich communities across the continent continue to face inadequate infrastructure, limited employment opportunities and insufficient participation in the wealth generated from their resources.
He said growing global demand for critical minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium and rare earth elements, driven by clean energy, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, offers African countries an opportunity to build domestic industries around their mineral resources.
According to Tinubu, Africa’s response should include processing and refining facilities, battery and component manufacturing, technology transfer and the development of competitive skills.
He said the value of mining should be measured not only by revenue generated but also by its impact on jobs, infrastructure, technology, local businesses and communities.
The President also warned that African countries would weaken their collective bargaining position if they competed against one another through lower royalties, weaker local-content requirements and excessive concessions to investors.
“Fragmentation leaves us exporting raw materials and buying finished goods at a premium. Cooperation gives our markets scale, our industries integration, our financing reach and our negotiations authority,” he said.
Nigeria’s Mining Reforms
Tinubu said Nigeria’s mining sector would require local value addition as a condition for new mining licences while strengthening geological data, investor access and the organisation of artisanal miners into cooperatives.
He also listed efforts to combat illegal mining and improve regulatory accountability.
The President said revenue from the sector rose from about ₦6 billion in 2023 to more than ₦38 billion in 2024, and to between ₦68.1 billion and ₦70 billion in 2025.
He also cited foreign investment commitments and the development and commissioning of large-scale lithium processing capacity in Nasarawa State as examples of what is possible in Nigeria’s mining sector.
Tinubu said Nigeria’s mining policy was designed to ensure that minerals extracted in the country support local industries, workers, skills and communities.
The President urged other African countries to adapt lessons from Nigeria’s experience while developing partnerships based on mutual benefit, sovereign equality, fair market access and technology transfer.
Africa Seeks Common Framework
The roundtable also featured discussions on the proposed Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), which is intended to provide a framework for cooperation around Africa’s critical and solid mineral value chains.
Tinubu said the declaration should establish a predictable environment for investment in Africa’s strategic mineral corridors, including harmonised policies, responsible investment and shared infrastructure.
He called for the agreement to move beyond its signing ceremony through clear timelines, financing arrangements, implementation mechanisms and public accountability.
The President also urged AMSG member countries to speak with one voice on issues affecting Africa’s collective mineral interests.
“Africa’s power resides in its people, markets and ingenuity. No outsider will organise our continent or place our industrial interests above their own,” Tinubu said.
Earlier, Alake said the proposed CIEAD would provide a unified architecture for Africa’s critical and solid minerals value chains.
He urged more African countries to join the AMSG, saying greater cooperation was needed to coordinate efforts, ideas and resources in developing the continent’s natural resources.
Kenya’s Minister of Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, Hassan Ali Joho, also called for greater domestic resource mobilisation to support mineral development.
Joho said AMSG members should improve transparency and competitiveness and work towards greater alignment of licensing procedures while respecting the sovereignty of individual states.
Representatives of Liberia, Chad and Tanzania also contributed to the discussions.
The third AMSG roundtable was held on September 21, 2026, in New York, as part of the group’s broader efforts to move Africa’s critical-minerals agenda toward local value addition, industrialisation, and greater continental cooperation.
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
AT 3RD AFRICA MINERALS STRATEGY GROUP HIGH-LEVEL ROUNDTABLE:
President Tinubu Rallies Aggressive Alliance To Guard Africa’s Mineral Wealth
** *Charges continent to stop exporting wealth, start profiting from its own resources
Read More : CBN Cuts Benchmark Rate to 23 Percent
** *Says Africa’s future… pic.twitter.com/VjLax7bVXo
— Stanley Nkwocha (@stanleynkwocha_) September 22, 2026
