The Managing Director/CEO of SALID Agriculture Ltd, Alhaji Ali Saidu and the Director General/CEO of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof Nnanyelugo M. Ike-Muonso have jointly commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for demonstrating boldness in declaring a ban on export of raw shea nut. The duo gave the commendation when Prof Ike-Muonso led a team of senior management staff of the Council on a working visit to the factory which is Nigeria’s largest shea nut refinery located in Bida, Niger State on Wednesday, September 2, 2025.
They described the ban as a bold and patriotic move that will lead to the development and standardisation of the shea nut value chain in Nigeria. While receiving the RMRDC team, Alhaji Ali Saidu stated that Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of shea but spends huge forex to import refined shea products. He described the Federal Government effort in this regard as a bold that will promote local processing of shea in Nigeria. On his part, the RMRDC DG stated that the action by President Tinubu should be widely commended as it comes at a time when the RMRDC was pushing for a 30% value addition to Nigeria’s raw materials before export.
The DG equally commended the MD/CEO of SALID Agriculture Ltd for his courage in setting up the factory and assured him of RMRDC’s support. Prof Ike-Muonso emphasized that the sector has the potential to create over 600,000 new jobs for women and youths in Nigeria as well as contribute to national economic growth and industrial development. He called on industrialists and entrepreneurs to support Mr President bold step for the economic well-being of the people and sustainable prosperity of the country.
