Following the announcement of suspension of the exports of raw shea made by Pres. Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR yesterday, the Special Assistant (Social Media) to the President, Mr. Dada Olusegun made the due clarification expressing the government’s readiness to see through the initiative, TheMediaGood Newspaper can report.
Addressing the matter, Mr. Dada shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, ‘The temporary ban placed on the exportation of raw shea as announced yesterday by Pres. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not borne out of any unpreparedness.’
He revealed: ‘Earlier this month, the largest shea butter refinery in the whole of Africa was opened in Kudu, Mokwa, Niger State, with an initial capacity of 30,000 tons annually (100 tons per day). Plans are in place to expand the capacity to 400tons/day in the nearest future.’
‘Currently, Nigeria accounts for 60 per cent of global shea nut production but lacked large-scale industrial processing facilities until recently.’
‘President Tinubu’s decision to ban exportation of the raw materials is part of his administration’s commitment to make Nigeria a global hub for shea production (just like other major products where we have competitive advantage) by adding value locally and positioning the nation as a leading supplier of high-quality refined shea products,’ the Presidential Assistant concluded.
It would be recalled that Pres. Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR yesterday 27th August declared a six month ban on exports of shea in its raw form. This is in a bid to ensure that Nigeria grow her processing capacity and earning power on the global market.