• NIPSS DG: Nigeria Cannot Hit $1trn Economy With Manufacturing Contributing Just 3.3% To GDP
Lagos State Government has renewed its push to position the state as Africa’s premier industrial hub, pledging stronger support for manufacturers, investors and businesses as Nigeria battles to unlock its productive capacity.
The state’s Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Hon. Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, made the commitment at the 54th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), held at the Lagos Oriental Hotel.
The AGM, themed “Leveraging National Industrial Policy to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Industrial Hub,” brought together key players in the nation’s manufacturing sector at a time of mounting pressure from inflation, exchange-rate volatility, energy costs, infrastructure deficits and changing trade conditions.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos remained committed to creating the conditions required for manufacturing and investment to thrive, stressing that sustained collaboration between government and industry was critical to overcoming the challenges confronting the productive sector.
“Manufacturers face significant pressures, including exchange-rate volatility, inflation, high energy costs, infrastructure gaps, and changing trade conditions,” she said.
According to her, government must provide an enabling environment, while manufacturers bring the investment, expertise and practical knowledge required to develop workable solutions.
The Commissioner also spotlighted the Lagos State Industrial Policy 2025–2030, describing it as a strategic framework designed to strengthen manufacturing, promote innovation, support industrial clusters and drive sustainable industrial expansion across the state.
She identified the Lekki Deep Sea Port and Lekki Free Trade Zone as strategic assets capable of accelerating Lagos’ emergence as a major centre for trade, logistics and industrial investment.
A major plank of the state’s industrial drive, she said, was the ongoing electricity-sector reform under the Lagos State Electricity Law 2024, which provides the framework for managing the state’s intrastate electricity market.
The law establishes key institutions, including the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC), Lagos State Electrification Agency (LSEA) and Lagos State Independent System Operator (LAISO).
Ambrose-Medebem said reliable electricity remained directly linked to the competitiveness and survival of manufacturing businesses.
“For manufacturers, this work is directly connected to competitiveness. More reliable power can help businesses manage costs, sustain production, protect jobs, and plan for growth,” she said.
She assured manufacturers that the Lagos Government would continue working with MAN, energy providers and other stakeholders to ensure that the electricity reforms translated into tangible improvements for businesses and residents.
The Commissioner also commended the outgoing MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, for his service and leadership, conveying the appreciation of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos State Government
But the strongest warning at the gathering came from the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Prof. Ayo Omotayo, who declared that Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy would remain difficult to achieve unless manufacturing dramatically expands its contribution to national output.
Omotayo noted that manufacturing currently contributes only 3.3 per cent of GDP, far below the 25 per cent contribution envisaged.
“If Nigeria is going to work, economically, Manufacturing must work,” he declared.
The NIPSS DG cautioned against treating policy formulation as the ultimate solution to Nigeria’s industrial challenges, insisting that effective implementation would determine whether existing policies produce the desired results.
“Going forward, it is not Policy that will make Manufacturing work. Policy has its own role, but eventually, it is how we approach implementation of Policy that will make the difference,” Omotayo said.
Also speaking, MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, OFR, said Nigeria’s ambition to become Africa’s industrial hub must go beyond simply increasing domestic production.
He called for an operating environment that would enable Nigerian manufacturers to compete effectively, deepen local value addition and access markets across Africa and beyond.
Meshioye stressed that market access would only become commercially meaningful if Nigerian products could compete on cost, quality, standards, reliability and delivery.
“Market access will be commercially meaningful only where Nigerian Manufacturers can compete on cost, quality, standards, reliability, and delivery,” he said.
The message from the AGM was clear: Nigeria’s industrial ambition now hinges not merely on policies and production targets, but on whether government and industry can translate those commitments into cheaper energy, stronger infrastructure, competitive production and wider market access.
For Lagos, the strategy is to leverage its industrial policy, electricity reforms and strategic infrastructure to place manufacturing at the centre of the state’s next phase of economic expansion.
