By Rukayat Moisemhe
President Bola Tinubu has assured manufacturers of the Federal Government’s commitment to the Nigeria Industrial Policy (NIP).
Tinubu said the policy had a delivery mechanism to drive measurable improvements in the country’s industrial sector.
He gave the assurance at the sixth Adeola Odutola Lecture and 54th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
He was represented by the Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, at the event with the theme: “Leveraging National Industrial Policy to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Industrial Hub.”
The President said NIP implementation would be measured by factories reopening, increased capacity utilisation, jobs created, exports shipped and new factories established.
He also directed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, through the Industrial Revolution Working Group (IRWG), to hold quarterly delivery dialogues with MAN.
He said the dialogues would enable the association to monitor implementation and hold the government accountable.
“That is why this policy is not a shelf document. It has a delivery engine.
“Implementation of the Nigerian industrial policy will be measured, reported, and published.
“For clarity, I have directed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, through the IRWG, to hold a standing quarterly delivery dialogue with this association.
“This is so that you can hold us to account,” he said.
Tinubu said the IRWG brought government, the Organised Private Sector, financiers and development partners together under one scorecard.
He said the scorecard would measure factories reopening, capacity utilisation, jobs created, exports shipped and new factories established.
Tinubu also identified energy, capital, markets, security and accountability as key areas requiring government intervention to accelerate industrialisation.
According to him, no factory can compete in the dark.
“We will continue to prioritise gas for industry and provide reliable power for industrial clusters because the cost of energy is the cost of everything we make,” he said.
The President said government would work with the Bank of Industry, development finance institutions and the banking system.
He said the objective was to provide patient, affordable and long-term financing to productive enterprises.
Tinubu said the government’s Nigeria First policy would support public procurement of locally made goods that met required standards.
He added that initiatives such as the National Single Window would reduce the cost and time of moving goods through ports and borders.
Tinubu urged manufacturers to reciprocate government’s efforts by investing in production capacity and deepening backward integration.
He also urged them to meet international standards, train young Nigerians and treat the African market as their home market.
MAN President, Mr Francis Meshioye, said Nigeria’s industrial transformation required more than policy ambition.
He stressed the need for sustained improvements in productivity, investment, technology adoption, infrastructure, energy, finance and the broader business environment.
Meshioye noted that in spite of Nigeria’s total exports rising to N85.13 trillion in 2025, manufactured exports stood at only N2.50 trillion.
He said the figure represented 2.94 per cent of total exports.
He said the figures showed that although Nigeria was exporting more, industrial value addition was not expanding at the pace required to transform the economy.
The MAN president urged the Federal Government to fast-track implementation of the NIP with clear timelines, measurable performance indicators and institutional accountability.
He also called for the establishment of a Nigeria First Industrial Fund to provide long-term concessionary financing and support technology upgrading.
He said the fund would also promote local value addition.
“We also call for prioritisation of gas allocation to manufacturers, resolution of outstanding four per cent Free-on-Board levy and foreign exchange-forward obligations,” he said.
He also called for the elimination of duplicative regulatory inspections and improved coordination among regulatory agencies.
In his keynote address, Dr Kandeh Yumkella, former Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, said Nigeria had the essential foundations to become an industrial powerhouse.
He listed a large market, natural resources, entrepreneurial capacity, financial depth and strategic positioning within ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Yumkella, however, said Nigeria’s industrial challenge was not a shortage of ambition or enterprise.
He said the challenge was converting the country’s scale into productivity, competitiveness and exports.
He said manufacturing had remained at about seven per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while manufactured exports accounted for only about three per cent of export revenue.
Yumkella identified reliable electricity as critical to Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
He said the country’s power grid currently delivered about 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts against estimated demand of more than 20,000 megawatts.
According to him, manufacturers spent an estimated N1.34 trillion on self-generated power in 2025, up from N781.68 billion in 2023.
He said energy accounted for between 35 and 40 per cent of production costs.
Yumkella said Nigeria should leverage its abundant gas, hydropower and solar resources to provide affordable and reliable electricity for industry.
He also called for the promotion of regional energy markets in West Africa.
Yumkella called for greater investment in technical and vocational education and stronger industry-training partnerships to address the skills gap affecting manufacturers.
He said Nigeria could lead Africa’s industrial transformation by building regional value chains rather than seeking to produce everything domestically.
“The future of African industrialisation is not every country producing everything. It is specialisation, integration, economies of scale and regional production networks,” he said.
Yumkella said the AfCFTA had created a market of about 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of about $3.4 trillion.
He said this presented Nigeria with an opportunity to become a major production hub for the continent.
He urged the country to move beyond its position as Africa’s largest consumer market to becoming one of its leading production centres. (NAN)
Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
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