Leaders at the WAES2025 in Abuja
Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has called for collective economic transformation across West Africa, calling on states in the region to end the export of raw minerals without processing them locally, a trend he called the “pit-to-port” dependency.
Speaking on Saturday at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, the Nigerian leader urged instead for investment in regional value chains, manufacturing, and innovation.
Speaking at the event, he called on his fellow heads of state to “recognise that Africa was left behind in previous industrial revolutions. We cannot afford to miss the next one.
“Our rare minerals power tomorrow’s green technologies, yet it is not enough to be resource-rich; we must become value-chain smart and invest in local processing and regional manufacturing.
“The era of pit to port must end. We must turn our mineral wealth into domestic economic value, jobs, technology, and manufacturing.”
President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone stressed that boosting regional trade requires full participation in ECOWAS programs. He specifically cited the need to implement the ETLS for reduced tariffs and adopt the CET to standardize trade rules across borders.
He urged regional partners to move faster on monetary union in order to enhance trade and build greater opportunities. “Harmonising ECOWAS trade, customs, quality standards, and fiscal policies for natural resource management is essential for growth and prosperity,” he stated.
Both presidents’ speeches capture the urgency of building stronger and more effective regional economic bonds. Tinubu’s insistence on ending the “pit-to-port” dependency follows the growing trend across the continent, recently, where the leadership of several mineral-rich states have insisted on gaining greater value for their natural resources by demanding the building of refining capacities at home.
The Nigerian president called on states in West Africa to “provide the right environment, law, order, and market-friendly policies, while the private sector drives growth.”
According to him, “Our task is to find new and effective ways to invest in our collective future, improve the business climate, and create opportunities for our youth and women.
“Let us emerge from this summit with actionable outcomes: a renewed commitment to ease of doing business, enhanced intra-regional trade, improved infrastructure connectivity, and innovative ideas that move our people from poverty to prosperity. Let us build a West Africa that is investable, competitive, and resilient, one that leads with vision, responsibility, and unity,” he added.
Speaking as ECOWAS chairman, Tinubu called West Africa’s young population its greatest advantage. But he warned: without proper investment in schools, technology, and job creation, this advantage could backfire.
President Tinubu launched WAES 2025 as an initiative to build consensus on issues of regional growth. This conference sets the stage for ECOWAS’ 67th Summit on June 22 at State House. West African leaders in attendance included the presidents of Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Gambia, Benin, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau.
The summit brought together finance, trade, infrastructure and foreign affairs ministers from across ECOWAS member nations. Key regional economic organizations also sent delegates – including WAMA, WAMI, EBID, UEMOA and AfCFTA representatives.
The summit also brought together private sector leaders, development partners, and policy experts, with the goal of delivering visible outcomes that would accelerate West Africa’s integration agenda, an essential component of regional peace, security, and prosperity.
