The Federal Government has announced plans to enforce a mandatory 30 per cent value-addition requirement on all raw materials before export, a policy the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, described as a major turning point for Nigeria’s industrial growth.
Udeh made this known on Friday in Abuja during a press briefing held after a one-day National Advocacy and Sensitisation Conference on the newly passed Raw Materials Research and Development Council 30% Value-Addition Bill, which awaits presidential assent.
The minister said the law seeks to ensure that natural resources leaving the country undergo at least 30 per cent processing locally, a move he said would bolster local content, boost manufacturing, and create jobs. He cited lithium as a key example, noting that the mineral is currently exported in its rawest form but would now require processing into concentrate or lithium salt.
Udeh said the requirement would differ across sectors and products, adding that technical assessments would determine what constitutes 30 per cent value addition per material. He stressed that the law would expand the economy, improve production capacity, raise GDP, and strengthen Nigeria’s balance of trade.
According to him, the policy aims to curb capital flight and reduce import dependence. “We would move from being import-dependent to being export-capable,” he said, pointing to cocoa as an example of a resource Nigeria exports raw but re-imports as finished products.
Responding to concerns that the requirement could repel investors, Udeh argued that legislation-backed rules would instead give investors confidence, as foreign companies exporting Nigeria’s minerals would now be required to establish local operations. He said the government will support enforcement through investment, infrastructure, and targeted funding, including financing being prepared by the National Bank to help industries comply.
The minister added that a national dashboard is being developed to track raw materials and provide technical support. Sanctions for non-compliance, he said, would be economic and designed to discourage violations.
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Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, said the bill rests on two pillars: banning the export of raw materials without at least 30 per cent value addition and prohibiting the importation of raw materials abundant in Nigeria.
He said the legislation would stimulate manufacturing, create jobs, conserve foreign exchange, and attract investment. Ike-Muonso explained that early national advocacy was necessary to prepare stakeholders before presidential assent, insisting that Nigeria could no longer afford implementation delays.
He urged manufacturers, SMEs, regulators, civil society groups and state governments to begin capacity adjustments, describing the bill as a declaration of Nigeria’s economic independence.
The bill, passed by the National Assembly after consultations with industry stakeholders, will become law once approved by President Bola Tinubu.