Victoria Aluko, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday urged the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to intensify efforts to mobilise and deploy Africa’s human, financial and natural resources to accelerate the continent’s economic development.
Tinubu made the call when the President and Chairman of the Board of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, led a delegation of the bank on a visit to the State House, Abuja.
The President said Africa’s industrialisation must move beyond policy discussions to practical actions that would boost trade, create jobs and improve the living standards of citizens.
“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,” Tinubu said.
He stressed the importance of adding value to Africa’s raw materials, saying the continent must end the practice of exporting resources without processing them locally.
“We have what it takes to build this continent. Do we continue to exploit and export raw materials without value addition? That answer is no,” he said.
Tinubu urged Afreximbank to provide investment guarantees for critical sectors, particularly in the processing of solid minerals such as lithium into finished products.
He said the Federal Government’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and efforts to unify exchange rates, were aimed at addressing corruption and strengthening the economy.
The President also called for greater collaboration between Afreximbank and the Bank of Agriculture to develop agricultural value chains, especially in crops such as cocoa, palm kernel and palm oil.
He added that the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development was designed to transform farmer-herder conflicts into economic opportunities.
“I created the Livestock Ministry to create economic opportunities for Africans. The cotton, ginnery and garment industries are job creators,” Tinubu said.
Earlier, Elombi said the delegation visited the State House to appreciate Tinubu’s support and brief him on the bank’s activities and investments in Nigeria.
He disclosed that Afreximbank had invested between $15 billion and $20 billion in Nigeria’s economy over the past five years, covering sectors including trade, agriculture, healthcare and infrastructure.
Elombi said the bank had also committed $2 billion to support Nigeria’s cotton and garment industry, while participating in major projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Kano-Maradi Railway line.
