…SOFT launches National Industrial Policy
The federal government has said that, through the new National Industrial Policy (NIP), they aim to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) to 20-25 per cent by 2030.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Industry in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, John Ovan Enoch, during the soft-launch of the NIP at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Macroeconomic Outlook event in Lagos titled, 'Consolidating Economic Stabilization Gains: A Path to Sustainable Development in Nigeria.'
Enoh said the policy aims to create jobs, reduce import dependence and improve competitiveness in sectors such as petrochemicals, automotive, pharmaceuticals, textiles and minerals, adding that with commitment, will and leadership it is possible to achieve this.
Nigeria's manufacturing sector recorded a strong year-on-year performance in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 as it grew by 1.25 percent compared to 0.8 percent in the same period of 2024.
However, lack of infrastructure, especially power and logistics, port inefficiencies and supply chains are hindering the growth of the sector.
The Minister said Nigeria has had trade and investment policies for many years but lacked a formal industrial framework, which led to the development of the NIP approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to address long-standing shortcomings.
He also said that next month, there will be a formal launch of the National Industrial Policy (NIP) in the presence of President Tinubu, adding, “Sometime next month, what we plan to do is formally launch our industrial policy, unveil an implementation framework and strategy.”
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Unlike previous policies, Enoch said the NIP would be launched with a detailed implementation framework, with performance benchmarks, timelines, inter-ministerial coordination and public reporting to rebuild confidence amid widespread fatigue with non-implementing government policies.
“The key differences are performance-based design, clear sequencing of results, specified institutional ownership, performance benchmarks and timelines,” he said, adding that trade, investment, finance, energy, skills, infrastructure and regulation are synchronized to eliminate policy silos.
Enoch further said that the NIP is built around six pillars, which include competitive industrial production, value-chain deepening and import substitution, MSME transition in the industry, skills and technology development, trade competitiveness under AfCFTA and strong regulatory and data coordination.
Emphasizing that the policy prioritizes local value addition, mandatory thresholds for processing raw materials and deeper integration of Nigerian enterprises into industrial value chains, he warned that Nigeria must avoid becoming a dumping ground under the AfCFTA.
“We may have the capacity in the country itself that can process these raw materials. The Raw Materials Research and Development Council has a bill in the National Assembly that talks about 30 percent value addition.
Enoch said, “Corporations and bodies operating in our country are more interested in exporting our raw materials, so they are processed and they bring them back to us. We will not allow ourselves to become a dumping ground for other countries.”
