VP Shettima Unveils Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025, Declares End to Fragmented Growth

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday launched the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025 in Abuja, declaring that the country must move decisively “from policy to productivity” and put an end to what he described as years of fragmented and uncoordinated industrial growth. Standing in for President Bola Tinubu, Shettima positioned the new blueprint as a strategic reset aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s industrial base and driving global competitiveness.

Speaking at the event themed “From Policy to Productivity: Implementing Nigeria’s Industrial Future,” the Vice President said the administration assumed office in 2023 with a commitment to redefine Nigeria’s industrial ambition. He stressed that industrialisation must be treated as a deliberate national action, not a rhetorical aspiration, underscoring the need for infrastructure, stable energy, skilled manpower, accessible finance, and innovation-led reforms.

Shettima identified longstanding structural bottlenecks including disjointed value chains, high production costs, infrastructure deficits, and policy inconsistency as key impediments to industrial growth. According to him, the new strategy seeks to leverage Nigeria’s comparative advantages, deepen domestic value chains to reduce dependence on raw material exports, integrate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and institutionalize a strong execution framework.

Emphasising implementation, he warned that policies often fail not at conception but in execution. He stated that the administration would measure success by tangible outcomes such as job creation, increased domestic value retention, and the global footprint of Nigerian-made goods. The policy, he added, aligns with broader economic reforms, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) objectives, and strengthened investor protection mechanisms..

The Vice President also reaffirmed the administration’s pro-private sector stance, stating that government’s role is to create an enabling environment rather than directly engage in business. He praised the Minister of State for Industry and the technical teams for what he described as substantive and coordinated policy leadership, calling for transparency, accountability, and sustained public-private collaboration to drive Nigeria’s industrial transformation.