Fatimah Otunsanya
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday unveiled Nigeria’s Industrial Policy 2025, urging relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to ensure its swift implementation.
The President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, launched the policy at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha.
According to Tinubu, the policy serves as a roadmap for re-engineering Nigeria’s industrial base, unlocking value across sectors, and placing production, competitiveness, and job creation at the centre of the nation’s economic strategy.
He emphasised that policies rarely fail at conception, but at execution.
Addressing the deficiencies in Nigeria’s industrial landscape, Tinubu lamented that the country had long grappled “with fragmented value chains, high production costs, infrastructure gaps, policy inconsistency, and insufficient coordination between government and industry.”
He added, however, that “this stops now,” noting that the Industrial Policy 2025 directly acknowledges these challenges.
He said, “We have realised that industrialisation is not a wish you think about; it is an action you perform.
“More than that, we must remind ourselves that this task demands coherence across energy, trade, infrastructure, finance, skills, and innovation. It requires partnership between government and the private sector.”
The President stressed that the success of the policy would be measured by tangible outcomes.
“This administration will not measure success by the number of documents we produce.
“We will measure success by the number of factories that open their gates at dawn, by the jobs created for our young men and women, by the exports that leave our ports bearing the mark of Nigerian excellence, and by the value retained within our own economy.”
Outlining the policy’s focus areas, Tinubu said it prioritises strategic sectors based on the nation’s comparative and competitive advantages.
“It advances value chain development so that Nigeria moves steadily from exporting raw materials to producing finished goods.
“It integrates our micro, small, and medium enterprises into the heart of industrial growth, because prosperity must not be exclusive.
“It aligns infrastructure and energy with industrial ambition, for factories cannot run on policy alone. It strengthens skills, technology, and innovation to prepare our people for the industries of today and tomorrow.”
He called for increased private sector participation, urging businesses “to invest with confidence and responsibility, to deepen local value chains, to create jobs and transfer skills, and to partner with government in building a productive economy.”
Tinubu commended the Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, “for his disciplined leadership and clarity of purpose in driving” the policy.
He noted that the minister has demonstrated that leadership is “not about noise, but about substance, coordination, and follow-through.”
He also praised technical teams, industry stakeholders, manufacturers, investors, and practitioners for shaping the policy “into a document grounded in reality and informed by experience.”
Earlier, Enoh described the launch as a turning point aimed at building an industrial Nigeria that produces, competes, and prospers.
Speaking, Business mogul and Chairman of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, thanked the federal government for the progressive policy, highlighting that Nigeria is the only country in Africa where the private sector is larger than government.
He added that domestic manufacturers welcome the policy and expressed confidence that “the naira, this year, will be at ₦1,000 to $100.”
Dangote noted that many investors are willing to invest in Nigeria due to exchange rate stability and economic reforms, stressing that protection of indigenous industries is crucial: “If there is no protection, there is no way any industry will thrive here.”
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Mohamed Fall, expressed confidence that the launch marked a step toward inclusive economic growth.
He highlighted the ongoing partnership between the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and Nigeria, aimed at transforming the country into a key player in regional and global value chains.
President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, commended the President on the launch and pledged full support to ensure the policy’s effective implementation, backing the promotion of indigenous entrepreneurship enshrined in the policy.