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…Push policy alignment with Nigeria First agenda
By Merit Ibe
Manufacturers across Nigeria have expressed frustration that despite ongoing economic reforms, the industrial sector continues to grapple with crippling energy costs, limited access to credit accentuated by rising interest rates and limited long-term finance, infrastructure gaps particularly in logistics and transportation among other pain points of operators.
They amplified their challenges through the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), noting that these challenges are eroding competitiveness.
They called on the government to align its policies more deliberately with the “Nigeria First” economic agenda to protect local industries and spur sustainable growth.
Manufacturers in Nigeria operate under a tough business environment, being challenged by energy costs that remain astronomically high.
The MAN president, Francis Meshioye reiterated the call at the opening ceremony of the MAN 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, citing the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) manufacturing share of GDP which declined from 27.6 percent in the 2010 base year to 21 percent in the rebased structure.
Meshioye noted that the sector’s average five-year performance remains negative at -0.76 percent between 2019 and 2024, while sectors like services and agriculture expanded.
Meshioye lamented that the rebased GDP figures signal a troubling shift from production to consumption, services and informal value creation, which is not sustainable.
Despite the challenges’ manufacturers remain resilient; delivering high-quality, competitive and diverse goods, produced under extremely difficult conditions, he said.
The MAN boss also urged the federal government to designate an annual “Proudly Nigeria Day,” that would allow all citizens, especially public officials, to wear, use and consume only Made-in-Nigeria products. He emphasised that Corporate Nigeria also has a responsibility to align with the “Nigeria First” vision of Mr. President.
“Multinationals, conglomerates, and large procurement organisations must look within for raw materials, packaging, and inputs. Many of these are already produced locally to global standards and should not be overlooked due to legacy procurement practices or cost assumptions that no longer hold true when long-term economic value is properly considered.
“Let us be clear that manufacturers in Nigeria operate under a tough business environment. Energy costs remain astronomically high. Access to credit is constrained by rising interest rates and limited long-term finance. Infrastructure gaps persist, particularly in logistics and transportation. Insecurity continues to inhibit progressive business planning and operations. In general and despite the onset of relative stability, a lot still needs to be done to overcome macroeconomic headwinds. We must take intentional action to overcome these binding constraints and promote an environment that solves for planning and competitiveness,”Meshioye said.
“Let it be a day of national economic reflection, one that fosters behavioural change and renews national pride. Over time, such a tradition will strengthen consumer awareness and shift cultural perceptions in favour of local products,” he urged.
Themed: “Nigeria First: Prioritising Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria,” he said the “Nigeria First” agenda is not about closing the doors to the world; it is about opening the right doors to Nigerian-made solutions, Nigerian jobs, and Nigerian ingenuity.
He also reminded that every industrialised country in the world today, began its journey by nurturing local content and leveraging public and private procurement, as an avenue for galvanising scale production and economic development, and that Nigeria must not go the opposite direction.
Meshioye advised that “as a matter of urgency, we must institutionalise mechanisms that prioritise Made-in-Nigeria products in government contracts, public spending, and private-sector procurement. Existing Executive Orders, including 003 and 005, must be aligned with the Nigeria First Policy and fully implemented, enforced and monitored. Quite importantly, there must be consequences for non-compliance. We should eliminate the prevalence of selective compliance. Now is the time to create the policy framework for transitioning the Nigeria First Policy from executive pronouncements to legislative imperative and ultimately to unfettered and bold implementation. We cannot continue to allow policy inertia to undermine our development potential”.
Speaking further, he pointed out that “Beyond policy enforcement, we must also establish a functional, independent compliance agency or institution tasked with auditing patronage levels, recommending corrective action, and publicly disclosing performance across Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government. Let it be known which institutions are genuinely driving local economic empowerment and those that are not. And we should take evident and far reaching corrective and disciplinary measures against the latter. Only then can we truly align government spending with our industrial policy goals.
The MAN President noted that for “Nigeria First” to succeed, supply must meet demand. And for supply to be competitive, the operating environment must improve.
On the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the MAN boss noted that the association was expanding research capacity in its advocacy.
“We are also investing in partnerships that will enable technology upgrade, skills development, and regional market access under the AfCFTA.”
He however, pointed out that all efforts will count for little if the demand side is not unlocked, adding that a truly transformative industrial policy is in the offing and its diligent implementation should support a national demand plan, one that maps out where procurement opportunities exist and how Nigerian manufacturers can be integrated into the demand chains.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) representative and director, Sub-Regional office in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Philbert Johnson, agreed that the sector’s share of the GDP has declined over the past decade.
To reverse this trend, Johnson advised that the nation’s intervention must be sound, deliberate, coherent, and coordinated across following four interlinked drivers of competitiveness which are infrastructure and energy reliability, access to finance, skills and technology, market access and trade facilitation,” Johnson said.
He applauded President Bola Tinubu’s Nigeria First policy, which offered a clear pathway to scale domestic patronage of Nigerian products and services, emphasising the call to ‘prioritise patronage of Made-in-Nigeria’ which must go beyond rhetoric and patriotic sentiments.
He said UNIDO believes that a strong manufacturing base is the bedrock of sustainable development.
