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Abuja Bubbles as Nearly 2,000 Delegates from 54 Countries set for 2026 Raw Materials Summit
Joel Ajayi
The second Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026) is expected to attract nearly 2,000 delegates from across 54 African countries and global industrial partners, almost doubling the attendance recorded at its maiden edition.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, disclosed this during the World Press Briefing on the summit scheduled for October 19–20, 2026, at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
The summit, themed “From African Feedstock to African Factories,” seeks to promote local processing of Africa’s natural resources, strengthen manufacturing capacity and reduce the continent’s dependence on exporting unprocessed commodities.
Ike-Muonso said the gathering would bring together policymakers, investors, researchers, manufacturers, technology providers and development finance institutions to develop practical solutions for converting Africa’s abundant raw materials into industrial products.
He noted that Africa had continued to lose significant economic opportunities through an extractive model that prioritised the export of unprocessed resources while importing expensive finished goods.
According to him, Nigeria alone possesses more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, yet the country and other African economies continue to face challenges associated with limited local value addition, foreign exchange pressures and inadequate industrial capacity.
He said ARMS 2026 would provide a platform for aligning policy, investment, technology and industrial development to ensure that more value is retained within African economies.
The maiden edition of the summit, held in May 2025 under the theme “Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape,” attracted more than 1,000 delegates and provided a platform for unveiling the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034).
The roadmap outlines strategies for strengthening local technological capacity, promoting climate-resilient processing and advancing backward integration in the raw materials sector.
Ike-Muonso said the second edition would build on the foundation established by the maiden summit by addressing critical barriers to resource-based industrialisation across the continent.
A major focus will be the proposed 30 per cent mandatory value-addition policy, which seeks to establish a statutory requirement for domestic processing of Nigerian raw materials before export.
According to the RMRDC chief executive, the proposed legislation is projected to generate more than 1.2 million skilled jobs within five years, conserve foreign exchange through import substitution and increase manufacturing’s contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product.
He said the initiative would help move the country away from exporting low-value primary commodities towards producing and exporting higher-value industrial goods.
The summit will also examine infrastructure and logistics challenges affecting the movement of raw materials from farms and mines to processing facilities, including inadequate rural roads, cold-chain infrastructure, testing facilities and standardisation systems.
Other priority areas include circular economy development, waste industrialisation, regional value-chain integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the commercialisation of research and technological innovations.
The programme will feature high-level plenary sessions, policy dialogues, interactive panels, a Pan-African Advanced Raw Materials and Technology Exhibition, industrial site visits and the African Raw Materials Industry Awards.
The exhibition is expected to showcase locally fabricated processing equipment, advanced materials, green chemicals and other industrial inputs developed by innovators across Africa.
The industrial visits will provide participants with opportunities to observe manufacturing and raw materials processing operations within the Abuja industrial corridor.
Ike-Muonso also highlighted institutional reforms undertaken by the RMRDC, including the deployment of the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP), which is designed to provide information on raw material deposits, specifications, production and industrial demand.
He further identified the Council’s ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification, digitalisation initiatives, technical training programmes and partnerships with the Bank of Industry and China’s National Innovation Centre par Excellence as part of efforts to strengthen the commercialisation of research and local industrial development.
The RMRDC director-general called on the media to scrutinise the summit’s policies and outcomes, particularly progress towards domestic value addition, while encouraging private-sector operators, investors and technology companies to participate.
He said the future of Africa’s resource economy depended on building industries capable of processing locally sourced materials into finished and semi-finished products.
Registration for ARMS 2026 is open to stakeholders interested in contributing to investment, technology transfer, manufacturing and the development of regional industrial value chains.
The summit is expected to provide a platform for strengthening partnerships and advancing the transition from raw material extraction to sustainable, resource-based industrialisation across Africa.
News
RMAFC Chairman Charges Directors, HODs on Accountability, Productivity
Joel Ajayi
The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, OFR, has charged Directors and Heads of Departments (HODs) to demonstrate commitment, accountability and professionalism in the discharge of their duties to ensure the successful implementation of the Performance Management System (PMS) in the Commission.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by Head, Information and Public Relations Unit Maryam Umar Yusuf, mnipr stated that, Chairman gave the charge at the signing of Performance Contracts by Directors and Heads of Departments at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
He described the exercise as more than the signing of official documents, noting that it represented a covenant of accountability and a commitment to delivering on the Commission’s strategic objectives through improved productivity and measurable results. He also noted that the initiative aligned with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which prioritises institutional efficiency, good governance and improved service delivery.
Dr. Shehu explained that the PMS represents a deliberate shift from routine administrative activities to a result-oriented system that measures institutional and individual performance against clearly defined objectives.
He noted that the Commission had recorded significant progress towards its implementation through the development of a dedicated IT platform, organisation-wide staff training, capacity building for PMS champions, management sensitisation sessions and change management initiatives.
He emphasised that the system was not designed to be punitive but to empower officers, clarify responsibilities, identify capacity gaps and promote fairness in performance assessment. He therefore urged Directors and HODs to ensure that departmental targets and key performance indicators were realistic, measurable, time-bound and aligned with the Commission’s strategic objectives.
He assured staff of management’s commitment to providing the necessary support and enabling environment, while urging all officers to embrace the initiative and make accountability, professionalism and improved service delivery their guiding principles.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Personnel Matters Committee (PMC) and Federal Commissioner representing Cross River State, Ntufam Eyo-Nsa Whitley, described staff as the driving force behind the success of the Commission, urging them to demonstrate discipline, diligence, emotional intelligence and dedication to their responsibilities.
He encouraged officers to take the performance management exercise seriously and give their best towards achieving the Commission’s objectives.
He further urged staff to support one another, embrace the reform process and avoid attitudes that could undermine teamwork and institutional progress. Hon Ntufam called on the PMS champions to demonstrate commitment and provide guidance to their colleagues, stressing that collective responsibility, discipline and effective implementation would ensure the success of the initiative.
In his welcome address, the Secretary to the Commission, Comrade Tosin Adeyanju, described the signing ceremony as a significant milestone in the Commission’s history, marking the transition from intention to action, planning to execution, and traditional performance evaluation to a modern, data-driven performance management system.
He appreciated the Chairman’s leadership and the Commissioners’ support, while acknowledging the critical roles of Directors and HODs in driving the transformation.
He urged management staff to take ownership of their performance agreements and ensure regular engagement, feedback and monitoring to achieve the desired results.
He stressed that the success of the PMS would depend not merely on signing the contracts but on the Commission’s ability to translate agreed targets into improved productivity, efficiency and measurable institutional achievements.
Earlier, the Director overseeing the Administration and Human Resource Department, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Gidado, explained that the Commission had undertaken a series of activities towards the implementation of the Performance Management System and that the signing of the performance contracts represented a major milestone in the process, marking the transition from preparatory activities to the implementation phase.
In his lecture on The Role of Performance Management in Public Sector Transformation, Mr. Nwachukwu John, Head of Economy Team Performance Management at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), commended RMAFC for the progress recorded in adopting the PMS framework. He noted that the Commission’s commitment demonstrated its readiness to embrace public service reforms and align individual responsibilities with institutional and national development objectives.
He explained that the PMS was designed to connect the responsibilities of individual officers with departmental targets, the Commission’s strategic plan and the Federal Government’s priorities. He urged Directors and HODs to ensure that performance contracts were cascaded to other levels of staff through regular engagement and feedback, emphasising that the system was a productivity tool rather than a promotion exercise.
Similarly, Mr. Ohiro Emmanuel, PMS Consultant with Reliefline Nigeria Limited, delivered a lecture on Overview of the PMS Implementation Journey, during which he described the signing of performance contracts by Directors as a major milestone in the implementation process. He explained that the Commission had conducted staff training, developed a dedicated PMS IT platform and trained performance management champions to facilitate the process.
He stated that the next phase would involve cascading the performance contracts across departments, with Directors engaging their Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors, who would subsequently work with other officers to ensure that individual responsibilities were aligned with departmental targets. He urged the Commission to sustain the momentum and proceed with the cascading process to achieve full implementation of the system.
In his closing remarks, the Director of Reliefline Nigeria Limited, Mr. Francis Ikuyinminu, expressed appreciation to the leadership of RMAFC for their commitment and collaboration towards the successful development of the PMS.
He also acknowledged the support of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and other partners, reaffirming his company’s commitment to providing technical advisory support, capacity building and change management to ensure effective implementation of the system. He urged all stakeholders to sustain their partnership and commitment towards building a legacy of excellence
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