Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, Director General/Chief Executive of Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), is to deliver the 10^th edition of The Bullion Lecture. The theme of the lecture which is scheduled for 10am on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, is From Resources to Prosperity: How Raw Materials Development, Value Addition and Innovation Can Catalyse Nigeria’s Industrial Renaissance.

Ike-Muonso is a distinguished Natural Resource Economist and Academic Leader with over 30 years of expertise in raw material market dynamics, supply chain economics, and research commercialisation. As the Director General of RMRDC, he sits at the intersection of industry, policy, and academia, driving Nigeria’s transition from a resource-exporting nation to an industrial powerhouse.

Ike-Muonso is the chief architect of the landmark 30% Value-Addition Bill, a transformative legislative mandate requiring local processing of all extracted raw materials prior to export. This initiative, coupled with his aggressive advocacy for the prohibition of imports for locally abundant resources, is designed to secure Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and fortify domestic industrial linkages. Under his leadership, the RMRDC is repositioning Nigeria as a central production hub for the African continent.

Prior to his current role, he served as CEO of ValueFronteira Limited, a premier commodities research and data analytics firm. His career is marked by high-level consultancies and strategic partnerships with global institutions, including multilateral organisations (The World Bank, UNDP, European Commission, ECOWAS); development partners (USAID, DFID, FCDO); and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and academic institutions (Lagos Business School and Edinburgh Business School).

According to a statement in Lagos by Dr. Ray Echebiri, Founder/CEO of Centre for Financial Journalism, organisers of The Bullion Lecture, the 2026 edition of the lecture (10^th in the series), will be chaired by Otunba Kelvin Dele Oye, Chairman, Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics and former President of National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA). HRH Jacob Esan, Chief Executive Officer of Geo Fliuds Plc, and Mr. Christian Udechukwu, Commissioner for Industrial Development, Anambra State, will dissect the guest lecturer’s presentation as panelists.

The event will feature the presentation of the book Pathways to Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Transformation. Edited by Dr. Ray Echebiri, the book is a compilation of the text of The Bullion Lecture from 2016 to 2026.

Expected guests at the lecture include government officials, captains of industry, academics, banking and finance executives, energy sector players, manufacturers, maritime executives, ICT professionals, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of multilateral institutions, media practitioners, members of the public.