Afreximbank has been urged by President Bola Tinubu to mobilise Africa’s financial, human and natural resources to accelerate industrialisation, strengthen value addition, boost agriculture and expand economic opportunities across the continent.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to intensify efforts to mobilise Africa’s financial, human and natural resources to drive industrialisation, economic transformation and sustainable development 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 in Abuja.
Tinubu said Africa’s industrialisation must move beyond policy discussions to concrete actions that promote manufacturing, expand trade, create jobs, increase value addition and improve the standard of living of Africans.
He noted that structured financial support and reliable infrastructure are critical to unlocking the continent’s economic potential.
“The conscience and the future of Africa depend on what you and your team can do and will do for Africa as a whole, and the time has come for us to start doing things together as Africans,” the President said.
According to him, Africa has abundant natural resources and should no longer depend on exporting raw materials without processing them into higher-value products.
Tinubu urged Afreximbank to provide investment guarantees that would encourage value addition in strategic sectors, including lithium processing, battery production and other manufacturing ecosystems.
The President also defended his administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of exchange rates, describing them as necessary measures to curb corruption and stabilise the economy.
Speaking on the recurring farmer-herder conflict, Tinubu said the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development was designed to transform a long-standing security challenge into an economic opportunity through investment in the livestock sector.
He further advocated stronger collaboration between Afreximbank and the Bank of Agriculture to expand investments in cocoa, palm kernel, palm oil and other agricultural commodities, ensuring that agricultural value chains deliver greater economic benefits.
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 industrial expansion, economic diversification and increased value-added exports.
According to Enoh, the government’s investments in solid minerals, oil and gas, manufacturing, agriculture and the digital economy are laying the foundation for a more resilient economy that is less dependent on crude oil revenues.
In his remarks, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board, Dr George Elombi, thanked President Tinubu for his support during his election as the bank’s president and briefed him on the institution’s activities in Nigeria.
Elombi said Afreximbank has investments spanning trade, agricultural processing, healthcare and value-chain development, adding that the bank has invested between 15 billion and 20 billion US dollars in Nigeria over the past five years.
He also highlighted the bank’s efforts to reduce medical tourism through investments in healthcare infrastructure and invited the President to visit the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja.
The Afreximbank president further disclosed that the bank has committed 2 billion US dollars to support Nigeria’s cotton and garment industry.
He added that the bank is also financing major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Kano-Maradi railway line, as part of its commitment to supporting economic growth and regional integration.
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