...set to host AEMBANK’s headquarters

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – FOLLOWING years of intense negotiations, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has formally acceded to the Charter of the African Extractive Minerals Development Bank, AEMBANK.

The historic signing ceremony took place on December 4, 2025, during the AFNIS London Roadshow 2025.

Hajiya Shinkafi, representing the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, officiated the signing.

She expressed immense satisfaction that this groundbreaking institution has finally come to fruition.

She noted that AEMBANK will bring long-desired support to the mining sector, driving job creation, economic growth, and indigenous empowerment.

She emphasized that this move places Nigeria, and Africa at large, on a definitive path toward true industrialization.

During the event, the Honourable Minister, through his representative, announced Nigeria’s firm commitment to hosting the Bank’s headquarters.

Speaking on behalf of the Bank, Ambassador Tim Morris, a member of the Advisory Board, recognized the passion, zeal, and dedication of the Minister in securing Nigeria’s accession.

Ambassador Morris declared that the institution would enhance a “symbiotic handshake” between the Global North and South and expressed the Bank’s anticipation of working closely with the Nigerian government.

The African Extractive Minerals Development Bank, AEMBANK, is a multilateral development finance institution born out of a collaboration between sovereigns and private investors. Its core mandate is to finance the mining sector to drive Africa’s industrialisation.