The Nigeria Economic Summit Group has cautioned that high production costs, unstable electricity supply and weak logistics infrastructure are eroding the competitiveness of Nigeria’s industrial sector, and has urged the creation of a council within the Presidency to coordinate industrialisation policies.
A co-facilitator of the NESG, Lumun Feese, said the country required a coordinated approach to industrial development to tackle structural challenges and put local manufacturers in a stronger position to compete in African markets.
Feese made the remarks on Tuesday in Abuja during a breakout session on building an integrated industrial ecosystem at the 32nd Nigeria Economic Summit.
She disclosed that Nigeria had slipped from eighth to 14th position on the African Development Bank’s Africa Industrialisation Index, but noted that the methodology had changed and that more countries were included in the latest ranking.
She said, “We are not maximising our potential and our large economy.
“How do we go and compete in South Africa when our cost of production is so high? Power, logistics and so on and so forth.”
According to her, Nigeria must look beyond its domestic market and build the capacity to supply other African countries.
Feese explained that the proposed industrialisation, competitiveness and regional integration council would serve as a central coordinating platform within the Presidency, with the aim of aligning government policies, improving the implementation of the National Industrial Policy and deepening private-sector participation.
She added that Nigerian businesses needed dependable power supply, efficient transportation systems and lower production costs in order to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area, which provides access to a wider continental market.
The NESG co-facilitator stated that the recommendations emerged from consultations on mining, the blue economy, power, oil and gas, and industrial competitiveness.
She appealed to businesses and other stakeholders to remain actively engaged with the NESG’s Industrial Policy Commission, stressing that coordinated policies and consistent implementation were essential to achieving measurable industrial growth.
