By Michael Oche
The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has called for greater transparency and legislative scrutiny of the Nigeria-US critical minerals framework, warning that Nigeria’s mineral wealth must not create a new form of economic dependency.
The framework, signed in New York in September 2026, reportedly covers exploration, mining, processing, infrastructure development and technical capacity, with Nigeria identifying local processing, skills development, job creation and increased participation of Nigerian businesses among its objectives.
However, ITUC-Africa said public information on the agreement remained limited, with details on specific projects, financing commitments, mineral volumes, pricing, offtake arrangements, duration, governance and enforceable domestic beneficiation obligations yet to be made sufficiently clear.
In a statement issued in Lomé, Togo and signed by its General Secretary, Akhator Joel Odigie, the organisation argued that African countries should not continue seeking development finance abroad while losing the revenues, industrial value and productive capacity contained in their natural resources.
The organisation said Nigeria must avoid replacing its dependence on crude oil exports with dependence on the export of lithium, rare earths and other unprocessed minerals.
“Changing the commodity without changing the structure of extraction is not economic transformation,” it said.
According to ITUC-Africa, Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s largest economies, its large workforce and extensive consumer market give it the capacity to develop domestic industries around its mineral resources.
It said decisions taken by Nigeria on critical minerals could also establish precedents for resource governance across the continent, given Africa’s experience with resource arrangements whose long-term implications were not always fully understood at the point of agreement.
The labour organisation therefore called for agreements of such strategic importance to be subjected to legislative scrutiny, public debate and institutional oversight.
It also raised questions about the extent of prior engagement with the National Assembly, including the Senate, before the advancement of the Nigeria-US framework.
ITUC-Africa called for the publication of the full framework and demanded enforceable safeguards covering domestic beneficiation, local content, technology transfer, decent work, taxation, public revenues, environmental protection and benefits for host communities.
The organisation said it would sustain its advocacy for African resources to support inclusive and shared economic growth and development, guided by the African Union’s Africa Mining Vision.
It said its advocacy would focus on transparent and equitable resource governance, domestic value addition and ensuring that mineral revenues contribute to industrialisation, decent jobs and shared prosperity.
