Tinubu Urges Afreximbank to Back Africa’s Industrial Growth, Defends Fuel Subsidy Removal and Economic Reforms

President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s sweeping economic reforms, insisting that difficult decisions such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of Nigeria’s foreign exchange system were necessary to curb corruption and secure the country’s economic future.

The President made the remarks while receiving a delegation from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), led by its President, Dr. George Elombi, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Tinubu stressed that Africa’s future depends on stronger collaboration among African nations and institutions to drive industrialisation and economic transformation.

“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.

Tinubu urged Afreximbank to increase investments in value addition across the continent rather than allowing Africa to continue exporting raw materials with little economic benefit. He highlighted the continent’s vast mineral wealth, including lithium, and called on the bank to provide investment guarantees that would support battery production and other manufacturing industries.

The President also called for stronger collaboration between Afreximbank and the Bank of Agriculture to expand investments in key agricultural value chains. He identified cocoa, palm kernel and palm oil as strategic commodities capable of creating jobs, boosting exports and strengthening food security if properly developed.

Speaking on the long-standing conflict between farmers and herders, Tinubu said his administration had adopted an economic approach by establishing the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. According to him, the ministry is designed to unlock investment opportunities, modernise livestock production and reduce recurring conflicts while creating employment.

“I created the livestock ministry to create economic opportunities for Africans,” Tinubu said, adding that industries such as cotton, ginneries and garment manufacturing have significant potential to generate jobs if supported through coordinated development programmes.

Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, told the delegation that the administration’s Eight-Point Renewed Hope Agenda is laying the foundation for a diversified economy by prioritising sectors such as solid minerals, oil and gas, manufacturing, agriculture, the digital economy and value-added exports.

Afreximbank President Dr. George Elombi thanked Tinubu for supporting his emergence as the bank’s president and disclosed that the institution has invested between $15 billion and $20 billion in Nigeria over the past five years. He said the bank’s portfolio covers trade, agricultural processing, healthcare and infrastructure, including financing for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Kano-Maradi Railway project and a $2 billion commitment to support Nigeria’s cotton and garment industry.