FG to establish three lithium processing factories to cut battery imports

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Read History Go to My Account Log Out Enhanced by Google Energy FG to establish three lithium processing factories to cut battery imports The Federal Government has unveiled plans to establish three lithium processing factories in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Abuja as part of

Listen to this article Share The Federal Government has unveiled plans to establish three lithium processing factories in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Abuja as part of efforts to position Nigeria in the global critical minerals and battery manufacturing value chain.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, warning that Nigeria must not continue exporting strategic minerals in their raw form only to import finished products manufactured from those resources at significantly higher prices.

Shettima, who was represented by Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Economic Affairs, made the disclosure while delivering the opening address at the international conference on AfCFTA and the Geoeconomics of African States: Integration, Power and Structural Transformation.

He said the global competition for critical minerals, energy security, semiconductors and artificial intelligence had fundamentally changed international trade, making it increasingly important for countries to control strategic resources and secure positions across global production networks.

According to him, trade is no longer driven exclusively by conventional economic considerations but is increasingly shaped by geopolitical competition, national security interests and the pursuit of technological supremacy.

“The contest for critical minerals, energy security, semiconductors, artificial intelligence or, as Nancy advised us, superintelligence, advancing manufacturing and technological supremacy has changed the character of global commerce,” he said.

He noted that export controls, sanctions, tariffs, industrial subsidies and restrictions on technology transfers had become instruments of economic statecraft, requiring African countries to rethink their approach to international trade.

Shettima argued that natural resources alone could not guarantee economic prosperity, stressing that the ability to process, transform and manufacture products from those resources was what ultimately generated greater economic value.

“The uncomfortable truth is that Africa has often supplied the raw materials for the prosperity of others, while importing the finished products at much higher prices.

“We export cocoa and import chocolate. We export crude oil and import refined petroleum products until very recently, with the momentous changes that we have seen in that sector as a result of the coming on board of Dangote and some other refineries,” he said.

He also cited the exportation of minerals that are subsequently processed abroad into batteries, electronics and sophisticated industrial products as evidence of Africa’s structural disadvantage in global trade.

It was in this context that he disclosed President Bola Tinubu’s support for the establishment of three lithium processing factories in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Abuja, although he did not provide details of their investment value, ownership structure, implementation timelines or production capacity.

Shettima said Nigeria must move beyond the extraction of lithium and other strategic minerals to developing the industrial capacity required to process them and manufacture components for the global battery and clean energy industries.

The Vice-President maintained that Africa’s greatest opportunity lay in moving from primary commodity production to higher-value manufacturing, advanced technology and knowledge-based services.

He outlined a progression from primary production, including agriculture, minerals and crude oil, to secondary production involving processing, refining, fabrication and manufacturing.

Beyond these, he identified transport, logistics, finance, insurance and professional services as important areas of economic activity, while highlighting research and development, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, advanced engineering, intellectual property and data science as increasingly important sources of global value.

“Our ambition must be to participate across the entire spectrum,” he said.

He cited cocoa as another example, arguing that African countries should move beyond exporting cocoa beans to producing chocolate, cosmetics, food ingredients and other derivatives while developing their own brands, logistics and distribution networks.

Shettima also said the same approach should apply to agriculture, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, automobiles and digital services.

On industrialisation, he stressed that Africa must adopt modern production systems capable of competing in an era of automation, artificial intelligence and rapidly evolving technologies.

“Industrialisation does not happen by declaration. It requires capable institutions, infrastructure, skills, finance, technology and sustained collaboration between government and the private sector,” he said.

He added that modern industrialisation should not involve reproducing outdated manufacturing systems but building competitive industries that can thrive in the emerging global economy.

“Africa must industrialise intelligently, not nostalgically,” he said.

The Vice-President further described the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as one of the continent’s most consequential economic initiatives, capable of creating a larger integrated market, supporting economies of scale, attracting investment and strengthening Africa’s bargaining position in international trade.

However, he warned that signing trade agreements would not automatically translate into economic integration, noting that African businesses continued to face expensive border procedures, fragmented standards, poor transport connections, inadequate electricity, limited trade finance and persistent non-tariff barriers.

“A free trade area that is difficult to cross is free only on paper,” he said.

He called for the development of regional production networks in which African countries could specialise and cooperate in manufacturing goods and services for continental and international markets.

He also urged African governments to harmonise standards, improve customs administration, strengthen regional payment systems and invest in transport, energy and digital infrastructure to reduce the cost of doing business across borders.

Shettima identified strategic value chains, productive infrastructure, long-term financing, human capital development and collective trade negotiations as priorities for African governments seeking to benefit from AfCFTA.

He said African development banks, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, commercial banks and private investors should be encouraged to finance productive enterprises, industrial parks, technology adoption and export-oriented businesses.

He also maintained that Nigeria and other African countries needed to strengthen their technical capacity and coordination to negotiate international trade agreements from positions of informed strength.

Addressing African WTO Chairs, Shettima urged universities and research institutions to move beyond academic analysis and provide practical recommendations that could guide government policies and business decisions.

He said the continent needed research on the implications of emerging global trade regulations, opportunities in new technologies and the economic costs of remaining outside strategic value chains.

“The measure of our success should not be the number of conferences we hold or papers we publish. It should be the extent to which AfCFTA increases trade, our policy strengthens production and our production improves the lives of our people,” he said.

He concluded that Africa must move from market access to market power by developing the productive capabilities required to create, rather than merely export, economic value.

Also speaking, former President Goodluck Jonathan said Africa must move beyond the ambition of creating a single continental market to building an integrated productive economy capable of generating jobs, improving productivity and increasing the continent’s influence in global trade.

Jonathan, who was represented by John-Kennedy Opara, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), , said the AfCFTA offered an important opportunity to overcome the fragmentation of African markets and strengthen cooperation among countries.

He, however, warned that the existence of a continental free trade agreement would not automatically deliver economic transformation without deliberate policies, effective institutions, infrastructure, financing and sustained political commitment. “Our task is not merely to create one African market. It is to create one African productive economy,” he said.

The former President said Africa had for decades participated in international trade largely as an exporter of primary commodities and an importer of manufactured products and sophisticated technologies, a pattern that had limited the continent’s ability to capture greater value from its natural resources.

He argued that Africa’s bargaining power in the global economy would depend less on the resources beneath its soil than on its capacity to transform them into productive assets.

“Africa’s greatest bargaining power will not come from the resources beneath the soil alone, but from its ability to transform those resources into productive capacity,” Jonathan said.

He called for greater local value addition, industrial development and stronger African enterprises, warning that competition among African countries should not undermine their collective negotiating position in international economic relations.

Jonathan identified agricultural transformation, industrialisation, human capital development and inclusive economic participation as priority areas requiring attention under the continental trade arrangement.

On food security, he urged African countries to move beyond exporting agricultural commodities in their raw form and invest in agro-processing, modern farming systems, storage facilities and integrated food value chains.

Meanwhile, Jumoke Oduwole, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, called for stronger coordination among governments, regulators, businesses and research institutions to address the practical obstacles preventing African enterprises from benefiting fully from the AfCFTA.

Oduwole, who was represented by Nda Ali, Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, said trade preferences alone could not resolve the challenges confronting businesses that struggled to obtain certificates of origin, identify buyers and move goods across borders at competitive costs.

She said Nigeria was working through its AfCFTA Coordination Office to bring trade partners, institutions and private-sector operators together to identify obstacles and develop practical solutions.

According to her, Nigeria’s subnational engagement, cargo business initiatives, export relations and participation in AfCFTA trade arrangements were intended to bring the implementation of the continental agreement closer to businesses.