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2023: Over 1000 CSOs condemn Gov Akeredolu, others over spurious attacks on CBN GOVERNOR

Published

4 years ago

May 7, 2022

…x-ray achievements of Emefiele, say he’s most qualified

Ahead of 2023 presidential election, over 1000 Civil Society Organisations under the auspices of Coalition of Civil Society Groups, CCSG, Saturday, threw weight behind the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emiefele, after purchase of presidential forms at the National Headquarters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abuja.

According to the coalition they are giving their support for Emefiele’s presidency, because of the unparalleled achievement based on his professionalism and patriotism he brought to bare on managing the various sectors of the economy on a solid sustainable path that has keep the nation afloat since he was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The coalition made the statement signed by the President, CCSG, Etuk Bassey Williams, and Secretary General, CCSG, Abubakar Ibrahim and several civil society organisations, while addressing a world press conference in Abuja.

The coalition said Emefiele can vie for any political position in Nigeria like any other Nigerian based on his constitutional rights.

They also cautioned gov Akeredolu and some politicians who have ganged up to malign and run down Emefiele, and they warned that the groups sponsored by the intimidated politicians should immediately desist from their cheap blackmail and calls for him to resign.

The coalition expressed dismay over the poor strategy some politicians aimed at overheating the polity, and said would be vehemently resisted if they still go ahead.

The statement reads in part, “It is really unfortunate that some politicians have nothing to offer because they have run out of steam and are only out to blackmail credible Nigerians who do not rest but keep economic working.

“We need to tell the ‘nay sayer’ and other paid agents that during the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, Emefiele was able to mobilize the private sectors and salvage the situation, despite the harsh financial state of the country, he also introduced several policies to support the poor; the farmer’s anchor borrower programme that just witnessed first of its kind of rice pyramid a few months ago.

“Given his pedigree, Emefiele was expected to bring on board novelties at the Bank and that he wasted no time in doing. While building on the policies of his predecessors, the core of Emefiele’s innovative stance at the CBN was development financing.

“To him, the CBN was to act as nancial catalyst by targeting strategic sectors that could create jobs on a mass scale and reduce the country’s import bills. He declared that the CBN would deploy developmental initiatives to create an enabling environment with appropriate incentives to empower innovative entrepreneurs to drive growth and development, and today we are seeing the impact and results.

“Statistics reveal that a total number of over 1 million farmers cultivating over a across 16 different commodities in the country’s 36 States, have so far benefited from the programme, which has also generated over three million direct and indirect jobs across agricultural value chains as at end 2019.

“In a bold move to contain rising inflation and to cushion the impact of the drop in the supply of foreign exchange to the Nigerian economy, he adopted unconventional monetary policies that he himself described as extraordinary measures needed to tackle extraordinary challenges.

“Interestingly, not only did the CBN tighten monetary policy rates over a period, the Bank introduced demand management approaches to conserve Nigeria’s reserves and support domestic production of certain goods. In a bid to encourage local manufacturers to consider local options in sourcing their raw materials, the CBN, under his leadership restricted access to foreign exchange on 41 items (now increased to 43). Four of these items alone, at the time, constituted over N1trillion of Nigeria’s annual import bill. In addition to this, the Bank also established an Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, which allowed investors and exporters to purchase and sell foreign exchange at the prevailing market rate.

“Then there was the further liberalization of the foreign ex change market through the operationalization of the Revised Guidelines for the Operation of the Nigerian Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Ma rket in June 2016. T he commencement of this policy guideline introduced the Naira Settled Foreign Exchange Futures Market.

“Due to the weakening of the Naira at the time, coupled with the exposure of several banks to the oil and gas sector, which squeezed the balance sheets of some domestic banks, the CBN intensified its risk-based supervision of the banks to guarantee financial stability.

“In spite of the effect of the recession that Nigeria experienced, her economy remained the largest in Africa by the size of its GDP.

“While bemoaning Nigeria’s high import bills, in excess of N1.3 trillion annually, particularly for items such as rice, fish, wheat and sugar, the Apex Bank’s boss said the Bank’s Interventions in the agricultural sector would be driven towards improving productivity in areas with high domestic demand, where opportunities exist to improve domestic supply, such as rice, fish, wheat and sugar and conservation of foreign exchange.

“We can go on and on about the great achievement he has recorded and surpassed his predecessors. He is qualified to be the President of Nigeria, and no wonder the issue of campaign banners of Emefiele is the handwork of Nigerians who are pleased with his effort and achievement as a CBN Governor.

“This also points his loyalty to Mr. President and his desire to make the APC government deliver on their promises to Nigeria.
“The call is a clarion demand for his service to the nation at large, having performed credibly well.

“We also pass Vote of Confidence on the workaholic and goal-getter game changer, Mr Godwin Emiefele, as we throw our weight behind him, and we promised to use our massive structures across the 36 States and FCT in all 744 local government areas to ensure we mobilize Nigerians to actualize the Emefiele Presidency come 2023.

“We are resolved and rooted to make this happen as we transverse Nigeria. Those who know they cannot stand out heat should join us to ensure a credible and vibrant leader take over and continue to build on the successes recorded by the Buhari-led administration.

However, they said nobody or groups can stamped Emefiele out of office, and warned that they would not sit down and watch some politicians threaten and intimidate a patriotic Nigerian like the CBN Governor.

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Business

Turning Africa’s Raw Materials Into Wealth: The ARMS 2026 Industrial Agenda

Published

3 days ago

September 29, 2026

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

For decades, Africa’s vast natural resources have powered industries and economies far beyond the continent, while many African countries have remained largely exporters of unprocessed commodities and importers of finished products.

That familiar pattern is now coming under renewed scrutiny as policymakers, researchers, investors and industrialists seek to change the direction of Africa’s resource economy.

At the centre of that conversation is the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026), scheduled for October 19 and 20 at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, under the theme: “From African Feedstock to African Factories.”

Organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), the summit is being positioned as more than another gathering of policymakers and industry stakeholders. It is intended to provide a platform for confronting the structural challenges that have kept African raw materials largely disconnected from local manufacturing.

Africa has for years operated largely within a “pit-to-port” economic model, exporting raw materials while importing expensive finished products.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the summit on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, said the event would bring together policymakers, investors, researchers, technology providers and industrialists to develop practical strategies for transforming Africa’s abundant natural resources into industrial wealth.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply the abundance of resources, but the continent’s ability to transform those resources into industrial value, employment, technology and wealth within Africa.

Nigeria alone, according to the RMRDC, has more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, while the wider continent possesses substantial deposits of critical minerals, agricultural raw materials and industrial feedstock.

Yet, the benefits of this resource endowment have often been constrained by inadequate processing capacity, weak infrastructure, limited technology, financing gaps and fragmented regional value chains.

From Dialogue to Industrial Action

ARMS 2026 builds on the maiden edition held in May 2025, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates from across the world.

The inaugural summit also witnessed the unveiling of the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034) by the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owen Enoh.

The roadmap was designed around areas including technological capability, climate-resilient processing and backward integration, establishing a policy framework for greater domestic utilisation of Africa’s raw materials.

The second edition is expected to move the conversation further by bringing policy, capital, technology and industrial stakeholders around practical mechanisms for turning raw materials into locally manufactured products.

One of the major proposals highlighted by the RMRDC is the 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which seeks to establish a statutory minimum level of value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.

The Council says the proposed framework could support job creation, import substitution, foreign-exchange conservation and increased manufacturing contribution to the economy.

Building the Infrastructure for Value Addition

The industrial transformation envisaged by ARMS 2026 goes beyond legislation.

A major concern is the “missing middle” between where raw materials are produced and where factories are located.

Poor transportation networks, inadequate cold-chain facilities, weak rural roads, limited testing and certification infrastructure and border-related delays can make locally sourced materials more expensive and less competitive.

Consequently, logistics and infrastructure constitute one of the five principal pillars of the summit.

The objective is to develop more reliable corridors connecting farms and mines with processing centres and manufacturing facilities, thereby reducing losses and improving the movement of industrial inputs.

The Digital Dimension

Technology is also becoming an important part of the Council’s strategy.

The RMRDC says it has developed the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP), described as a digital repository containing information on feedstock deposits, specifications, production outputs and industrial absorption rates.

The Council has also highlighted its transition towards paperless operations and its certification as a Data Controller/Processor of Major Importance by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

Such digital infrastructure could provide investors and manufacturers with better information about the availability and characteristics of raw materials while supporting more informed industrial planning.

Turning Waste Into Industrial Inputs

Another major component of ARMS 2026 is the proposed expansion of the circular economy.

The summit will examine how agricultural by-products, mine tailings, scrap metals and biomass can be recovered and reused as inputs for new production processes rather than being treated simply as waste.

The RMRDC argues that such an approach could lower raw-material costs while supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient manufacturing systems.

For Africa, where industrial expansion must increasingly balance economic development with environmental considerations, waste industrialisation could become an important part of the continent’s manufacturing conversation.

From National Production to African Value Chains

The African Continental Free Trade Area is another important element of the summit’s agenda.

The RMRDC sees AfCFTA as an opportunity to create regional value chains in which raw materials sourced in one African country can be processed and supplied to manufacturers in another.

Under such a model, Africa would move beyond simply exporting commodities to external markets and develop stronger internal networks for supplying chemicals, refined minerals, agricultural inputs and other industrial materials across national borders.

This approach places regional integration at the heart of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.

Bridging Research and Capital

A recurring weakness in many developing economies is the gap between research and commercialisation.

Innovations may emerge from universities, research institutions and laboratories without receiving the financing, equipment or market connections required to become commercially viable.

ARMS 2026 intends to address that gap through technology commercialisation and capital linkages, connecting research outputs with investors, development finance institutions and industrial off-takers.

The RMRDC has also cited partnerships with the Bank of Industry for commercial-scale post-harvest processing and a South-South technology-transfer partnership with the National Innovation Centre par Excellence in Shanghai, China.

A Larger Industrial Conversation

The scale of ARMS 2026 is expected to be significantly larger than the maiden edition.

The organisers project more than 1,800 delegates from all 54 African countries and global industrial partners.

The programme will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical panels, an advanced raw materials and technology exhibition, industrial site visits and the African Raw Materials Industry Awards.

The exhibition, in particular, is expected to showcase locally fabricated processing machinery, advanced domestic materials, green chemicals and engineered commercial inputs.

Beyond the speeches and exhibitions, however, the real significance of ARMS 2026 will ultimately depend on what happens after the summit.

Africa’s challenge has never been a shortage of raw materials. The more difficult question has been how to transform those resources into factories, products, skilled employment, technology and sustainable economic opportunities.

For Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the proposed shift from “pit-to-port” to “feedstock-to-factory” therefore represents a broader debate about the future structure of African economies.

ARMS 2026 seeks to place that debate firmly on the industrial agenda — with value addition, technology, finance, infrastructure, circular production and regional trade at the centre.

If the commitments and partnerships generated by the summit translate into measurable industrial activity, the event could provide another platform for Africa to examine how its enormous resource base can support stronger domestic manufacturing.

The message from the organisers is clear: the continent’s raw materials should not only leave African soil as commodities; they should increasingly become the foundation for African industrial production

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