The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a new National Industrial Policy aimed at increasing the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product from its current level of approximately 8 percent to 25 percent by 2030. Speaking at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group Macroeconomic Outlook event in Lagos on Thursday January 15 2026 the Minister of State for Industry John Owan Enoh stated that the policy is designed to catalyze job creation and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imports.
The framework prioritizes key sectors including petrochemicals, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and textiles to drive sustainable economic growth.
The National Industrial Policy serves as a formal execution-led design intended to synchronize trade investment and infrastructure. Enoh noted that unlike previous documents this policy includes clear performance benchmarks and an inter-ministerial coordination strategy to ensure successful implementation.
This move comes as the manufacturing sector showed signs of recovery growing by 1.25 percent in the third quarter of 2025 compared to 0.8 percent in the previous year despite persistent constraints such as power shortages and logistics inefficiencies.
A critical component of this industrial drive is the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Amendment Bill which is currently awaiting presidential assent after passing through the National Assembly in late 2025. This legislation mandates a minimum of 30 percent value addition to all raw materials before they can be exported from Nigeria.
By enforcing local processing for resources like cocoa and minerals the government aims to protect domestic industries from being a dumping ground under the African Continental Free Trade Area and retain more foreign exchange within the economy.
President Bola Tinubu is expected to perform the formal public launch of the National Industrial Policy next month in Abuja. The event will unveil a detailed implementation strategy and a public reporting framework designed to rebuild trust with the private sector. The Minister emphasized that with the right leadership and institutional ownership the goal of a one trillion dollar economy by 2030 is achievable through this shift from resource dependency to a high-value productive industrial hub
