Nigeria must translate the N372.8 trillion size of its rebased economy into stronger manufacturing output, job creation and greater value addition, Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, has said.
Enoh, who also chairs the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG), made the remarks in Lagos on Monday during the group’s second technical session.
He challenged policymakers to focus not only on measuring the size of the economy but also on strengthening its productive capacity.
According to the minister, economic rebasing has increased Nigeria’s statistical size without significantly changing its productive structure. Manufacturing still accounts for less than 10 per cent of output, while services contribute more than half.
“The rebasing made Nigeria statistically larger. It did not make Nigeria more industrial. We got a bigger mirror; we did not yet get a stronger body,” he stated.
Enoh said Nigeria should make the next decade an “execution decade” by focusing on policies and interventions capable of delivering measurable industrial expansion.
“No nation on this earth industrialised by accident, and none industrialised by endowment. Nations industrialise by decision, and then by the daily, unglamorous keeping of that decision,” he said.
Minister Highlights Industrial Progress
Enoh pointed to South Korea, China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Morocco as examples of countries that developed competitive manufacturing sectors through sustained investments in industrial policies, infrastructure, financing and skills.
Reviewing the IRWG’s progress since February 2025, he said more than $380 million in strategic financing had been mobilised for industrial projects.
He also disclosed that a proposed N350 billion MSME Development Fund was under consideration.
According to Enoh, 400 young Nigerians have received mechatronics training across four states, while Nigerian products have obtained certification for continental markets through African Quality Marks.
He added that quick-win financing channels had been activated through the Bank of Industry (BoI).
The minister also highlighted the implementation of the Nigeria First policy in public procurement and the development of a National Industrial Policy (NIP) as important measures aimed at boosting domestic production.
However, he acknowledged that the interventions would need to be significantly expanded to achieve the desired industrial transformation.
Manufacturers Seek Faster Industrial Growth
Also speaking at the event, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Director-General Segun Ajayi-Kadir said the country must move its manufacturing sector beyond simply surviving economic pressures and toward sustained growth that outpaces the wider economy.
He described the current recovery in industry and manufacturing as selective and fragile, noting that the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remains under pressure.
Ajayi-Kadir said the IRWG should focus on accelerating manufacturing growth through lower energy costs, more affordable credit, stronger domestic demand, increased backward integration and greater export capacity.
“Resilience is not a virtue when you really need to be speeding, as many other nations are doing,” he said.
He stressed that the key measure of success would be whether manufacturing could consistently grow faster than the overall economy, increase its contribution to GDP and distribute growth across employment-intensive subsectors.
The comments highlight growing calls for Nigeria to convert its larger statistical economy into stronger productive
