Thursday, August 7, 2025 - The federal government of Nigeria is finalizing a comprehensive new Nigerian Industrial Policy aimed at reversing the country’s dependence on imported goods and strengthening its domestic manufacturing base.
The initiative, led by the Ministry of Trade in
collaboration with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), is designed
to increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP, which currently
stands at less than 10%.
Speaking at the 2025 Nigerian Manufacturing &
Equipment/Nigerian Raw Materials Expo in Lagos, Minister of State for Industry,
John Owan Enoh, emphasized the government’s commitment to creating an enabling
environment that prioritizes local production over raw material exports.
“At the moment, we’re working on coming up
with the Nigerian Industrial Policy, which has been in the works for many
years,” Enoh said. “We’re not just doing that as government alone; we have
other stakeholders working with us.”
The Minister explained that the new policy is a direct
response to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, which seeks to
accelerate economic diversification across key sectors.
“The policy tries to respond and speak to
President Bola Tinubu’s agenda in terms of accelerating diversification in the
various sectors and sub-sectors,” Enoh said. “It’s going to be one that is
competitive enough with global industry trends.”
The policy is being co-developed with critical stakeholders,
including MAN, to ensure it reflects the realities of Nigeria’s industrial
landscape and global manufacturing shifts.
“We must produce, we must produce, and we must
produce,” Enoh declared, underscoring the urgency of boosting domestic
production.
The Minister revealed that the policy will target
high-potential sub-sectors such as textiles, automotive manufacturing,
agro-processing, and pharmaceuticals. These industries are seen as key drivers
of job creation, value addition, and export diversification.
“I got exposed to machines and
equipment that are developed in-country and that are enabling industry and
manufacturing,” Enoh said after touring the expo. “It was a face-to-face
encounter with Nigerian innovation and the spirit of enterprise.”
Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director-General of the Manufacturers
Association of Nigeria, expressed strong support for the initiative, describing
it as essential for Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
“Creating the Nigerian Industrial Policy is
one of the things that needs to be done by the government to boost the
industrial sector,” Ajayi-Kadir said. “It must contain all that is needed for
the country to industrialize.”
He also stressed the importance of a regulatory environment
that supports growth rather than stifles it.
“Regulation should be used to support economic
scale, not become a bottleneck to ease of doing business,” he added.
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