President Bola Tinubu has unveiled Nigeria’s 2025 Industrial Policy Roadmap, charging relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to ensure its swift implementation.
He described the policy 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.
Speaking at the official launch at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, the president, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, acknowledged that for too long Nigeria has grappled “with fragmented value chains, high production costs, infrastructure gaps, policy inconsistency, and insufficient coordination between government and industry.”
He declared emphatically, however, that “this stops now”, noting that the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025 recognises and addresses these shortcomings.
“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 the government and the private sector,” he stated.
President Tinubu stressed the urgency of implementation, recalling that when his administration assumed office in 2023, it did so with a promise to redefine Nigeria’s industrial ambition.
He said, “The defining strength of this policy is its insistence on implementation. 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.”
Key Aspects
Outlining the core components of the policy, the President explained that it prioritises strategic sector focus anchored on the nation’s comparative and competitive advantages.
He continued: “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.”
Calling for greater private sector participation, President Tinubu urged the sector “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.”
He commended the Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, for his disciplined leadership and clarity of purpose in driving the process, stating that the Minister “has demonstrated that policy leadership is not about noise, but about substance, coordination, and follow-through.”
The President also applauded the ministry’s technical teams, industry stakeholders, manufacturers, investors and practitioners for shaping the “policy into a document grounded in reality and informed by experience.”
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Earlier, the Minister of State for Industry, Chief John Enoh, said the initiative marks a turning point in building an industrial Nigeria that produces, competes and prospers.
Nigeria’s business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, thanked the Federal Government for introducing what he described as a progressive industrial policy. He observed that Nigeria is the only country in Africa where the private sector is larger than the government.
Dangote said domestic manufacturers are pleased with the policy introduced by the Tinubu administration and expressed confidence that “the naira, this year, will be at ₦1,000 to $100.”
Announcing that many investors are willing to invest in Nigeria owing to foreign exchange stability and other reforms, Dangote added that the remaining priority is the protection of indigenous industries, saying, “If there is no protection, there is no way any industry will thrive here.”
Confidence in Policy
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Mohamed Malick Fall, expressed confidence that with the official launch of the policy, Nigeria has taken a decisive step into a future where hope is translated into action, leading to inclusive economic growth.
He explained that the policy is the product of sustained collaboration between the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and Nigeria, aimed at transforming the country into a beacon of prosperity and a key player in regional and global value chains.
President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye, also commended the president on the launch, noting that manufacturers are committed to ensuring effective implementation.
He endorsed the promotion of indigenous entrepreneurship embedded in the policy and assured that MAN would offer its full support to guarantee its successful execution.