As the world discusses critical minerals and AI at the G20 Summit, Nigeria has called for fair mineral trade and ethical AI standards to ensure African communities benefit from their resources.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Third Session of the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, stressed that critical minerals should drive industrial development in Africa rather than reinforce historical inequities.
Shettima, in a statement released by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, highlighted that Africa’s natural wealth carries transformative potential but warned that “the possession of resources alone does not guarantee prosperity.”
He emphasized transparency, accountability, and “value addition at the source” to ensure host communities “are not left behind”.
On the summit’s theme, “A Fair and Just Future for All: Critical Minerals, Decent Work, Artificial Intelligence”, Shettima said Nigeria is training youth in technology and vocational skills under the Renewed Hope Agenda, ensuring economic transitions remain people-centred. “Decent work is the anchor that makes these transitions fair, inclusive and sustainable,” he added.
President Tinubu also endorsed establishing ethical global standards for AI, insisting that the technology must empower development rather than widen inequality. “Nigeria supports global ethical standards for AI that uphold safety, transparency, and equity. AI must be a tool of empowerment, not exclusion; of job creation, not displacement”. he said, calling for structured cooperation between developed and developing nations to manage risks and expand benefits.
On global finance, Tinubu noted that the international financial system no longer reflects contemporary realities, with developing nations facing constraints that weaken trade and financial inclusion.
He urged G20 leaders to prioritize debt sustainability and responsible mineral governance, stressing that sustainable financing is critical for Africa to achieve a development shift and build a global economy that “uplifts rather than excludes”.
The Nigerian delegation emphasized that Africa seeks a future not merely as a supplier of raw materials, but as a continent where value creation and innovation thrive.
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