Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivered the message on Saturday during the Third Session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged world leaders at the 2025 G20 Summit to support a global framework that guarantees equitable benefits for African countries hosting critical minerals and to adopt ethical standards guiding the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivered the message on Saturday during the Third Session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The session, themed “A Fair and Just Future for All: Critical Minerals, Decent Work, Artificial Intelligence,” centred on ensuring fair global transitions in technology, labour, and resource utilisation.
The President said Nigeria and other African nations are no longer willing to serve merely as suppliers of raw materials, stressing that the wealth generated from critical minerals must translate into shared prosperity.
“Nigeria calls for a global framework that promotes value addition at the source, supports local beneficiation, and ensures that communities hosting these resources are not left behind,” Tinubu said.
“The issue before us reaches far beyond the narrow arithmetic of economics and speaks to the moral character of the world we aspire to build.”
Tinubu urged global leaders to help shape an economic order focused on dignity, inclusion, and shared progress.
“Africa must not merely remain a supplier of raw materials,” he said. “We must build a future defined by value creation, innovation, and dignity in work.”
He emphasised that responsible extraction and transparent trade practices are key to ensuring that mineral-rich communities benefit from global green and digital transitions.
Tinubu told the summit that Africa’s future growth must be people-centred, adding that decent work forms the foundation of sustainable socio-economic development.
“Decent work is the anchor that makes these transitions fair, inclusive, and sustainable,” he said. “It ensures every person has the opportunity to contribute, thrive, and share in national prosperity.”
He noted that Nigeria, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, is investing in digital literacy, vocational training, and entrepreneurship to equip young people with future-ready skills.
The President also voiced Nigeria’s support for a unified global framework governing AI development, warning that unchecked technological systems could worsen inequality.
“Nigeria supports the creation of global ethical standards for AI that uphold safety, transparency, and equity,” he said. “We must ensure that AI becomes a tool of empowerment, not exclusion; of job creation, not displacement.”
Tinubu called for strategic partnerships between developed and developing nations to ensure equitable access to AI-driven opportunities.
“The G20 must address systemic bias and foster sustained multilateral dialogue so the benefits of AI are shared equitably and its risks responsibly managed,” he added.
In a separate intervention at the summit, Tinubu appealed to G20 leaders to reform the international financial system to better serve developing nations struggling with debt and limited financial access.
He said many global frameworks in use today are outdated and fail to reflect the complexities of the modern economy.
“These multilateral frameworks were built in an era far removed from the present challenges,” he said. “Only a more equitable and more responsive system can manage global financial flows with fairness, address recurring debt crises with sincerity, and meet the needs of all nations.”
He warned that rising debt burdens continue to drag African economies “back into cycles of fragility,” turning local problems into global threats.
Tinubu argued that Africa’s development cannot rely on ambition alone, stressing the need for strong financial backing.
“The continent cannot rise on the wings of aspiration alone without confronting the urgent need for sustainable financing,” he said.
He urged the G20 to place debt sustainability and responsible utilisation of critical minerals at the heart of its development agenda.
“The G20 must, in adopting the Leaders’ Declaration, advance policies that drive sustainable growth, promote financial inclusion, and confront emerging risks,” he said.
The 2025 G20 Summit continues in Johannesburg with further deliberations on global equity, sustainable growth, and technology governance.