The Federal Government is finalising a new Nigerian Industrial Policy aimed at reducing the country’s reliance on imports and boosting local manufacturing.

Spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade in partnership with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the policy seeks to raise the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP, which remains below 10%.

Speaking at the 2025 Nigerian Manufacturing & Equipment/Nigerian Raw Materials Expo in Lagos, Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fostering an environment that favours local production over the export of raw materials.

“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 aims to fast-track economic diversification across strategic 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 key stakeholders, including MAN, to ensure it aligns with Nigeria’s industrial realities and responds to evolving global manufacturing trends.

“We must produce, we must produce, and we must produce,” Enoh noted.

Enoh disclosed that the policy will focus on high-potential sub-sectors such as textiles, automotive manufacturing, agro-processing, and pharmaceuticals—identified as critical 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,” the Minister noted. “It was a face-to-face encounter with Nigerian innovation and the spirit of enterprise.”

The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, voiced strong support for the initiative, calling it vital to Nigeria’s industrial transformation.

He also emphasized the need for a regulatory environment that enables growth rather than hinders it.

“Regulation should be used to support economic scale, not become a bottleneck to ease of doing business,” he added.

The New Nigerian Industrial Policy seeks to boost manufacturing’s share of GDP while reducing dependence on imported goods.