The Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics Ltd/GTE has called for sweeping policy reforms to revive Nigeria’s struggling manufacturing sector, arguing that although the Bank of Industry’s (BOI) record N644.9 billion disbursement in 2025 marked a significant milestone, it remains insufficient to drive the country’s industrial transformation.
In a policy brief titled: “From N644.9 Billion to a Trillion-Dollar Dream: Why Nigeria’s Manufacturers Need More Than Applause,” the group praised BOI’s maiden Development Impact Report for shifting attention from the volume of loans disbursed to their economic impact, while urging the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address structural constraints undermining manufacturers.
The Alliance, led by Dele Oye, commended BOI under its Managing Director, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, for disbursing N644.9 billion in 2025, supporting 1.68 million jobs and financing projects across 14 strategic sectors.
It also lauded the CBN Governor, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, for policies supporting productive sectors and President Bola Tinubu for prioritising manufacturing under the Renewed Hope Agenda and the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy.
Describing the report as “a watershed moment,” the group said BOI had demonstrated that development finance should be measured by its impact on jobs, infrastructure and industrial growth rather than loan volumes alone.
However, it argued that the intervention represented only “a drop of water in a desert of industrial thirst,” stressing that Nigeria needs to create at least four million jobs annually to keep pace with population growth while manufacturers continue to operate at below 50 per cent of installed capacity.
According to the Alliance, the sector remains constrained by chronic electricity shortages, commercial lending rates exceeding 35 per cent, the unresolved $2.4 billion foreign exchange forward obligations owed to manufacturers, persistent government borrowing and the absence of single-digit financing for productive sectors.
“The manufacturing sector, which should be the engine of this transformation, is gasping. Q1 2026 has delivered a decline in manufacturing tax revenue. When manufacturers pay less tax, it is because they are producing less, selling less, and slowly suffocating,” the report stated.
The group urged the CBN to immediately resolve the outstanding forex forward contracts, warning that the delay had eroded confidence in Nigeria’s financial system and imposed huge losses on manufacturers. “A central bank that breaks its word breaks the economy,” it said.
Among its recommendations, the Alliance called on the government to fast-track implementation of the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy, restore tax incentives for businesses operating in Free Trade Zones and strengthen the National Credit Guarantee Company.
The group also called for the reduction of fiscal deficits and domestic borrowing, cap lending rates for manufacturing, agriculture and technology at 15 per cent, deepen the capital market for manufacturers and establish industrial clusters with dedicated power supply.
It maintained that Nigeria’s long-term prosperity would depend on expanding production rather than increasing taxation.
“No nation has ever taxed itself into prosperity; nations produce their way to greatness. Nigeria’s revenue problem is not a tax collection problem; it is a production problem,” the group added.
It stressed: “We offer the following policy recommendations, not as criticism, but as a pragmatic roadmap to achieve the President’s stated destination, acknowledging the commendable steps already taken,” it noted.
Emmanuel Addeh
