President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday unveiled the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025, charging relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to ensure its speedy implementation.

The policy, described as a roadmap for re-engineering Nigeria’s industrial base, aims to unlock value across sectors and place production, competitiveness, and job creation at the centre of the country’s economic strategy. Speaking at the official launch held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, the President stressed that the new policy already has a clear implementation architecture.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the President noted that policies often fail not at conception but at execution. He regretted that for too long, Nigeria has struggled “with fragmented value chains, high production costs, infrastructure gaps, policy inconsistency, and insufficient coordination between government and industry.”

He declared firmly that “this stops now,” explaining that the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025 is an acknowledgement of those shortcomings and a clear effort to address them.

“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,” he said.

President Tinubu insisted that implementation and execution would define the success of the policy. He recalled that when his administration came into office in 2023, it did so with a promise to redefine Nigeria’s industrial ambition.

“The defining strength of this policy is its insistence on implementation. This administration will not measure success by the number of documents we produce,” he said.

“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 key components of the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025, the President explained that it prioritises strategic sector focus based on Nigeria’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,” he said.

“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.”

The President also called for stronger 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.”

He commended the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, “for his disciplined leadership and clarity of purpose in driving” the process. According to him, the Minister “has demonstrated that policy leadership is not about noise, but about substance, coordination, and follow-through.”

President Tinubu further 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.”

Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of State for Industry, Chief John Owan Enoh, described the launch as a turning point aimed at building an industrial Nigeria that produces, competes, and prospers.

On his part, Chairman of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, thanked the federal government for introducing what he called a progressive industrial policy. He observed that Nigeria is the only country in Africa where the private sector is bigger than the government.

Dangote said domestic manufacturers are pleased with the policy created by the Tinubu administration and expressed strong confidence in the country’s currency outlook. According to him, “the naira, this year, will be at ₦1,000 to $100.”

He added that many investors are willing to invest in Nigeria due to foreign exchange stability and other reforms. However, he stressed the importance of protecting indigenous industries.

“If there is no protection, there is no way any industry will thrive here,” Dangote stated.

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall, also expressed optimism. He said that with the official launch of the policy, Nigeria has taken a step into its future where hope is translated into action, leading to inclusive economic growth.

He explained that the policy is the outcome of an ongoing partnership between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Nigeria, aimed at transforming the country into a beacon of prosperity and a key player in regional and global value chains.

Similarly, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Otunba Francis Meshioye, commended the President for launching the policy. He noted that manufacturers are focused on its effective implementation and backed the promotion of indigenous entrepreneurship as enshrined in the policy. He assured that MAN would give full support to ensure its successful implementation.