The Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics Ltd/GTE has called for far-reaching policy reforms to revitalise Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, urging the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce single-digit lending rates and address structural challenges hindering industrial growth.
The group, led by Dele Oye, made the call in a policy brief titled, “From N644.9 Billion to a Trillion-Dollar Dream: Why Nigeria’s Manufacturers Need More Than Applause.”
While commending the Bank of Industry (BOI) for disbursing a record ₦644.9 billion in 2025, the Alliance argued that the intervention, though significant, was insufficient to drive the country’s industrial transformation.
The group praised BOI’s maiden Development Impact Report for shifting the focus from the volume of loans disbursed to their measurable impact on employment, infrastructure and industrial development.
According to the Alliance, the bank, under its Managing Director, Olasupo Olusi, supported about 1.68 million jobs and financed projects across 14 strategic sectors through its lending activities in 2025.
The organisation also commended Yemi Cardoso for policies aimed at supporting productive sectors of the economy, as well as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising industrialisation under the Renewed Hope Agenda and the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy.
Describing the BOI report as “a watershed moment,” the Alliance said development finance should be measured by its impact on economic growth, job creation and industrial expansion rather than the amount of money disbursed.
However, it maintained that the current level of intervention represented only “a drop of water in a desert of industrial thirst,” noting that Nigeria needs to create at least four million jobs annually to keep pace with population growth.
The group expressed concern that manufacturers continue to operate below 50 per cent of installed production capacity due to multiple constraints, including inadequate electricity supply, commercial lending rates above 35 per cent, unresolved foreign exchange obligations, rising government borrowing and limited access to affordable financing.
“The manufacturing sector, which should be the engine of this transformation, is gasping. The first quarter of 2026 recorded 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 Alliance urged the CBN to immediately settle the outstanding $2.4 billion foreign exchange forward obligations owed to manufacturers, warning that the delay had weakened investor confidence and imposed significant financial losses on businesses.
“A central bank that breaks its word breaks the economy,” the group said.
Among its recommendations, the Alliance called on the Federal Government to fast-track implementation of the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy, restore tax incentives for businesses operating in Free Trade Zones, strengthen the National Credit Guarantee Company, and reduce fiscal deficits and domestic borrowing.
It also advocated capping lending rates for manufacturers, agriculture and technology firms at 15 per cent, deepening the capital market to improve access to long-term financing, and establishing industrial clusters with dedicated power infrastructure.
The group argued that sustainable economic growth would be driven by increased production rather than higher 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 policy brief stated.
The Alliance added that its recommendations were intended to support ongoing government reforms and provide a practical roadmap for achieving the administration’s industrialisation and economic development objectives.
