CBN Seeks Private Sector Alliance To Boost Value Addition In Raw Materials

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it plans to deepen collaboration with the private sector to unlock value addition across Nigeria’s raw materials value chain, as part of a renewed push to drive industrialisation and reduce investment risks in the sector.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the The Bullion Lecture organised by the Centre for Financial Journalism (CJN), where the CBN also received an award for outstanding Corporate Social Performance, Director of the Statistics Department at the apex bank, Usman Okpanachi, said the bank would prioritise strengthening data systems, enhancing policy coordination, and fostering stakeholder engagement to improve investor confidence in Nigeria’s raw materials ecosystem.

According to him, the CBN’s role would focus more on enabling a conducive operating environment rather than direct intervention, stressing that credible data and strategic partnerships are critical to the country’s reform agenda.

“We are making progress, and I think it is important for us to recognise that it is not when we are at the level of the final outcome that we could judge ourselves as successful. We may not be there yet, but hopefully this becomes law, and it will be a game changer,” he said.

He emphasised that improved data infrastructure remains central to ongoing reforms, noting that better coordination with stakeholders would strengthen policy effectiveness across sectors.

On private sector participation, Okpanachi reaffirmed the apex bank’s readiness to collaborate to de-risk the raw materials space and attract investments into processing and manufacturing.

“We have some experience in this area through our previous engagement, development finance and various value chains. Again, on this, I think for us, it is something that is of interest and I would also commit on the part of the bank that we will be ready to partner with you, share with you our lessons and experience and see how that can be put to use towards de-risking that space, the raw material space, so that we can then begin to see investment in that space, and then interest and participation by the private sector, which is all what we want to see,” he said.

In his lecture, director general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, underscored the urgency of shifting Nigeria’s growth model from raw commodity exports to industrial processing.

Delivering a paper titled “From Resources to Prosperity: How Raw Materials Development, Value Addition and Innovation Can Catalyse Nigeria’s Industrial Renaissance,” Ike-Muonso maintained that industrialisation remains the surest path to sustainable prosperity.

“The way to prosperity is to industrialise and, of course, the number of other things that will go together with that industrialisation, like raw materials development, value addition, and innovation,” he said.

He proposed legislation mandating a minimum of 30 per cent processing of raw materials before export, noting that such a policy would help retain value within the domestic economy.

He further argued against importing raw materials that are locally available, except in cases of scarcity. “If we have that, we shouldn’t import them. We shouldn’t bring them in,” he added.

Ike-Muonso disclosed that the proposal is being backed by a legal framework, with a bill already before the Ministry of Justice.

“For me, this legislation is the single most important thing I would have done because I know that that is the pathway to prosperity,” he said.

Warning against continued reliance on primary commodity exports, he noted, “If we rest on where we are today, we can never be like any nation that is developed in the world.”

He stressed that value chain development, from extraction to processing, manufacturing and export is key to job creation, income growth, and exchange rate stability.

“The logic is understood that the way to go is to develop the value chain. From extraction to processing to manufacturing to export,” he said.

Also speaking, chairman of the occasion, Dele Kelvin Oye, said rising geopolitical tensions and global supply chain disruptions have exposed Nigeria’s vulnerability as an import-dependent economy.

“We must accelerate our transition from a consumption-driven economy to a production-driven one. By localising our supply chains, enhancing our domestic manufacturing capabilities, and fiercely pursuing value addition, we can insulate our economy from external shocks and secure the livelihoods of our citizens,” he said.

Oye noted that recent policy directions, including export restrictions on raw shea nuts and proposed legislation on minimum value addition, signal a shift towards industrial policy reforms.

In his welcome address, chairman of the Board of CJN, Professor Akpan Ekpo, said the Bullion Lecture has grown into a major platform for policy dialogue, bringing together policymakers, academics, and industry players to tackle Nigeria’s structural economic challenges.