By Yinka Kolawole
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, has challenged the Federal Government to move the National Industrial Policy (NIP) 2025 from policy framework to measurable industrial outcomes, saying effective implementation is critical to positioning Nigeria as Africa’s industrial hub.
MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, made the call ahead of the association’s 54th Annual General Meeting, AGM, scheduled for October 5–7, 2026 in Lagos, saying the policy’s success would ultimately be measured by its impact on factory competitiveness, productivity, job creation and access to domestic and export markets.
Meshioye said the AGM, with the theme, “Leveraging National Industrial Policy to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Industrial Hub,” would interrogate how the policy could translate into more competitive factories, stronger local supply chains, increased investment, improved productivity, sustainable jobs and greater access to domestic and export markets.
According to him, manufacturing remains a fundamental pillar of a resilient economy, creating jobs, driving innovation, strengthening domestic value chains and transforming local resources into national prosperity.
He, however, noted that sustainable industrial growth could not depend on manufacturers’ resilience alone, stressing the need for effective institutions, policy consistency, critical infrastructure and stronger collaboration between the government and private sector.
The MAN president lamented that Nigerian manufacturers continued to contend with high production and energy costs, limited access to affordable finance, infrastructure deficits, inflationary and foreign exchange pressures, as well as global economic uncertainties.
Meshioye said the association had therefore sustained advocacy for macroeconomic stability, improved infrastructure, affordable long-term financing, a stable foreign exchange regime and a predictable regulatory environment.
On the NIP 2025, he said MAN participated actively in the stakeholder consultation process and welcomed its renewed focus on industrialisation, indigenous entrepreneurship, value-chain development, infrastructure, energy, skills, technology and MSME integration.
Meshioye stressed, however, that “a policy is ultimately as effective as its implementation,” adding that implementation must result in measurable improvements in factory competitiveness, investment, productivity, employment and market access.
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