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Nigeria To Privatise Raw Materials Sector for Growth – Minister

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Set up Council for Industrial Revitalisation
▪︎ MAN, RMRDC agog

Cover image: From left to right: Interim Chairman of Pan African Manufacturers Association, Engr Mansur Ahmed; MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye; Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olumuyiwa Ajayi-Ade, at the NME, and NIRAM EXPO 2023 in Lagos.

By Ocheneyi Alli


The Federal Government of Nigeria is considering to privatise the country’s industrial raw materials sector for development by local or foreign investors.

Doris Anite Uzoka, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, gave this hint, during the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)’s ongoing Manufacturing Equipment and Raw Materials Exposition, in Lagos.

At the event which will end tomorrow, themed ‘ Future Manufacturing: A Roadmap To Enabling Environment  With Sustainable Industrialisation,’ the Minister said ,” we must privatise our raw materials sector  to support  our Manufacturing industries and by focusing on value addition  and local content development; we can reduce our reliance on imported raw materials and improve the overall competitiveness of our products. 
This will also contributes to the growth of the SMEs and empower local entrepreneurs to participate actively in the manufacturing value chain.

Represented by Olumuyiwa Ajayi- Ade, a Deputy Director at the ministry, the Minister, also disclosed : ” since my assumption of  office, with the approval of President Tinubu, a Presidential Council For Industrial Revitalisation, has been established, with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy – Wale Edun, as the Chairman, and myself as the Vice Chair.
In addition, various Task Forces have been formed to effectively implement the mandates of the Presidential Council…”


In picture: A tour of the RMRDC exhibition stand by the representative of the Minister, Olumuyiwa Ajayi -Ade, led by Otunba Francis Meshioye, President of MAN, and other top dignitaries

The Minister enjoined all the stakeholders- manufacturers, policy makers , investors including the industry experts to ” let us work together to shape the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, in-line with Mr. President’s “Renewed Hope Agenda.”

There are so many projects now at the RMRDC… if only we can get genuine and willing investors to take over these projects and start the raw materials productions in large quantity.  It will go a long way in the supply of raw materials for our industries

Dr. Abubakar Aliyu, a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology , applauded the government’s policy intention to privatise the country’s raw materials sector, given the facts that the efforts of the RMRDC alone coupled with the 100 companies operating in the sector are not enough to meeting the industrial sector’s demands for local raw materials.

Dr. Aliyu, a former Director-General of the RMRDC, spoke as the guest speaker on the topic ‘ Opportunities For Jobs Creation and Wealth Generation  with Emphasis on Raw Materials Value Addition.

He said that since the establishment of the RMRDC in 1987 till- date , it had researched , developed, patented and established 100 Technology Innovation Centers (TICs) to address local raw materials development.
All these TIC have been brought under one umbrella because of the insecurity situations across the country now.

We can hardly move  to every sites where there are raw materials to establish model factories.  This was why the TIC have been brought under one location in Abuja.


There are so many projects now at the RMRDC.. if only we can get genuine and willing investors to take over these projects and start the raw materials productions in large quantity.  It will go a long way in the supply of raw materials for our industries.

He further said that besides the 100 TICs, there are 100 individual companies  that have been producing fertiliser raw materials in Nigeria.

” Unfortunately, the 100 companies are not able to produce enough to meeting local demand.  Nigeria needs about 3 million metric tons of the urea fertiliser and 5 million metric tons of the NPk fertiliser.


We need to do more; that’s why I said if we can get correct investors to invest in organic fertiliser, I believe that after few years, we can ban the importation of organic fertiliser in Nigeria,” he said.

Otunba Francis Meshioye, the President of MAN, also the government to also  establish synergy between trade and industrial policies.

” It will be a great legacy if this is achieved during your tenure because industry and trade are under your portfolio.

In addition, it will also be great if your tenure births a new Industrial Policy for the country,” he said.


He said that beyond the government’s solutions, local manufacturers should begin to switch their manufacturing plants to Industry 4.0 advanced manufacturing technologies into their production processes, so that they can realize greater revenue and profits from their investments.

” If manufacturers can efficiently balance a combination of efficient economies of production and supply chains; strong and reputable products; loyal customers; an established logistics network; as well as reliable on-line business elements, they will be well-positioned in the future to compete favourably in the industrial marketplace,” he said.

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EU fines Apple and Meta €700m, risking Trump fury

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Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. were hit by relatively modest European Union fines totaling €700 million ($798 million) for violating tough new antitrust rules for Big Tech, following warnings of harsh retaliation from US President Donald Trump.

EU regulators levied the penalties — €500 million against Apple and €200 million against Meta — under its Digital Markets Act, which includes a list of dos and don’ts mainly aimed at Silicon Valley giants.

“Apple and Meta have fallen short,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said on Wednesday.

“All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.”

The punishments — the first under the DMA — are far lower than previous penalties under traditional EU competition law, and are likely to be seen as an attempt to avoid further provoking Trump, who recently laid out a swath of tariffs on global economies.

He’s specifically called out the EU’s tech regulations as the kind of non-tariff trade barrier that his so-called reciprocal tariffs are intended to target.

The European Commission said that Apple had failed to allow developers to link out from its App Store in order to make sales outside of the company’s marketplace.

Meta’s business model for ad-free services on Instagram and Facebook also fell foul of the tech law, which gives regulators fining powers of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.

Both firms must comply with the EU decision within 60 days, or face the risk of further financial penalties.

Apple was also warned that its new fee structure for app developers — itself a plan devised to comply with EU rules — isn’t in line with the EU Big Tech rulebook.

Apple responded fiercely to the EU penalty, accusing the bloc’s regulators of discriminating against the company and forcing it to give away its technology for free.

The Cupertino, California-based company said it would appeal the fine to the EU courts. Just last year, the company was hit with a €1.8 billion EU fine for shutting out music-streaming rivals on the iPhone.

Meta’s head of global affairs Joel Kaplan also hit back, saying the EU “is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”

The EU decision “isn’t just about a fine; the commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” said Kaplan.

“And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies.

”The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Asked about whether the commission had deliberately kept the fines low to avoid provoking Trump, the Brussels-based EU commission said the fines were “proportionate” to the alleged gravity and duration of breaches of the DMA, which became applicable two years ago.

“This is about enforcement. It’s not about trade negotiations,” commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta told reporters.

Still, the size of the fines “suggest an easing of European regulatory pressure on US tech giants,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason.

“Penalties under the competition law could have been as much as 10% of total revenue, but ended up being less than 0.15% of each company’s 2024 sales, likely reflecting caution on aggressive enforcement against a tense backdrop in US-EU relations,” Bason said.

Despite its fine, Apple did see EU watchdogs close an investigation into online browsers after it rejigged how it offers users more choice on their iPhones.

EU regulators also backtracked on their decision to target Facebook Marketplace under the DMA. Meta was hit by a €798 million EU fine for alleged abuses on that service last year under standard antitrust law.

Apple shares rose 3.5% and Meta advanced 7% in early New York trading while the S&P 500 Index was up 3%.

Over recent years the EU has made costly penalties against firms, including more than $8 billion in fines against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and a separate order for Apple to pay Ireland back taxes of €13 billion.

Under its abuse-of-dominance rules, it has also forced changes out of Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace platform and Apple’s tap-and-go chip, while also investigating Microsoft Corp. video conference software, Teams.

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Uber, Bolt, inDrive workers to down tools in Lagos on May 1

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The Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Lagos State Chapter, is planning a 24-hour protest on May Day over alleged anti-labour practices by app-based companies including Uber, Bolt.

In a statement signed by AUATON Public Relations Officer Steven Iwindoye on Tuesday, the union said members would be staying off the apps, refusing to work, and demanding that their rights be respected.

According to Iwindoye, the union is protesting against alleged poor wages, unjust deactivations, insecurity and unsafe working conditions.

Others are excessive commissions taken by app companies, lack of proper rider profiles, mandatory facial recognition systems and harmful and exploitative work policies.

He alleged that app-based companies like Uber, Bolt, Lagride, inDrive, and Rida had ignored the union’s concerns and disrespected its rights.

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BACITI Advocates Market Shift for Nigerian Exporters

Nigerian agricultural and manufacturing SMEs that have carved out a market in the U.S.now face a price disadvantage.

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The Bashir Adeniyi Centre for International Trade and Investment (BACITI) says that Nigerian fertilizers manufacturers and industrial goods had better consider exporting regionally under the AfCFTA .

BACITI also urges the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to help exporters cope with the tariff’s cost through rebates, tax breaks, or low-interest loans to affected exporters.

BACITI , in its Economic Insight April 2025, noted that the U.S. tariff will hit Nigeria’s non-oil export sector hardest.

Said the report: ” Many African countries rely on preferential access to the U.S.market under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), which granted duty-free treatment to thousands of African exports.African manufacturers who invested with AGOA preferences in mind are now at risk.

Textiles, leather, and agro-processing exports from countries like Kenya,Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, and Nigeria may now face 10–14%tariffs, rendering the uncompetitive.

This could lead to job losses in export zones and industrial park.

Nigerian agricultural and manufacturing SMEs that have carved out a market in the U.S.now face a price disadvantage.

Niche products like Nigerian cocoa butter, dried fruits, or textiles and apparels which entered the U.S. duty-free will become costlier and uncompetitive.

Fertilizer makes up 2–3% of Nigeria’s exports to the U.S. A 10-14% tariff on fertilizer could lead U.S. buyers to seek cheaper suppliers, thus Nigerian producers might lose that market or have to accept lower net prices.

While crude oil is less likely to be directly impacted by the new tariffs, the broader uncertainty stemming from the ongoing trade war is likely to exert downward pressure on global oil prices, thereby affecting Nigeria’s export revenues and fiscal stability.

Indirect macro impact via oil prices: fallin oil prices due to slow global trade and economic uncertainty.

This would further reduce Nigeria’s export earnings and government revenue. A $10 drop in oil price, for example, costs Nigeria billions in export earnings.

Fiscal and FX pressures: A decline inNigeria’s export earnings would reduce dollar inflows, placing pressure on the naira.

In times of global uncertainty or trade wars, investors often retreat from riskier markets. As a result, Nigeria could face capital outflows, further currency depreciation, and rising inflationary pressure.”

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