Tinubu Urges Afreximbank to Drive Africa’s Industrialisation, Deepen Investment in Value Addition

President Bola Tinubu has called on the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to play a leading role in mobilising Africa’s financial, human and natural resources to accelerate industrialisation, value addition and economic transformation across the continent.

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, Abuja.

Tinubu said Africa must move beyond discussions about development and embrace practical measures that promote industrial growth, expand intra-African trade, create jobs and improve the living standards of its people.

He stressed that the continent possesses abundant natural and mineral resources and should no longer rely on exporting raw materials without processing them into higher-value products.

“We have what it takes to build this continent. Do we continue to exploit and export raw materials without value addition? The answer is no,” the President said.

He urged Afreximbank to provide investment guarantees that would support local manufacturing, particularly in industries that utilise strategic minerals such as lithium for battery production and other industrial value chains.

President Tinubu also defended his administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, describing them as necessary measures to curb corruption and place the economy on a sustainable path.

On agriculture, the President said the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development was aimed at transforming the long-standing farmer-herder conflict into economic opportunities through improved livestock production and value chains.

He further urged Afreximbank to strengthen collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture by investing in agricultural commodities such as cocoa, palm kernel and palm oil to boost local processing and exports.

Speaking during the meeting, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the administration’s Eight-Point Renewed Hope Agenda is repositioning Nigeria for sustainable economic growth through investments in solid minerals, oil and gas, manufacturing, agriculture, the digital economy and value-added exports.

Afreximbank President Dr. George Elombi thanked President Tinubu for supporting his emergence as the bank’s president and briefed him on the institution’s investments across trade, healthcare, agriculture and industrial value chains in Nigeria.

According to Elombi, Afreximbank has invested between 15 and 20 billion US dollars in Nigeria over the past five years and has committed an additional 2 billion US dollars to revive the country’s cotton and garment industry.

He also highlighted the bank’s investments in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Kano-Maradi Railway, and the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja, which he said is part of efforts to reduce medical tourism and strengthen healthcare delivery across Africa.

Elombi invited President Tinubu to visit the African Medical Centre of Excellence, describing it as a flagship investment in the continent’s healthcare sector.