The Minister of State for Industry, who is also the head the industry arm of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, John Enoh, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening local production through the “Made in Nigeria” and “Nigeria First” procurement policies.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, he said the initiative is moving from policy formulation to implementation, with measurable progress already recorded within 90 days of rollout.
“For us as a ministry and as a government, 2026 is a year for impact, it’s a year for execution, it’s a year for performance. We have strategic objectives and all of that, having to do with Made in Nigeria, trying to expand the Nigeria First policy. We have economic growth for MSMEs, we have skills training and all of that, we have finance and investments, we have infrastructure and power energy, we have investments and all of that, we have competitiveness and trade. All of these are the strategic objectives of the policy,” he outlined.
Adding, he said: “Last week, we just missed 90 days by just a couple of days, and we kept to our word. We released a report that indicates that on each of the strategic objectives, we’ve made some progress.”
Speaking further on the implementation progress, he said the federal government is focusing on strengthening industrial clusters, improving access to power, and expanding market opportunities for local manufacturers, especially MSMEs.
“In terms of power, you know, even before the policy was launched, sometime in December, I organized the first ministerial roundtable on energy and power, where we focused on the Idu industrial cluster. We want to use that as a template for other industrial clusters nationally. We’ve reached an advanced stage. By the time I’m giving the next report in terms of implementation and execution, we are sure to be able to attract power to the Idu cluster,” he noted.
Speaking on the “Nigeria First” policy, Minister Enoh argued that supporting local manufacturers, garment producers and artisans would create jobs, strengthen domestic industries and expand economic opportunities, while stressing that locally made products must also meet quality standards to remain competitive within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“In Nigeria, when you talk about Made in Nigeria in terms of clothing and textiles and apparel, you’re talking about the tailors. You’re talking about who and who they employ and all of that. There’s no problem with wearing suits. The problem is wearing suits that are either produced or bought from abroad, or that are sewn in-country.
“If we don’t have the cotton yet, we have the tailors, we have the garment producers and all of that that can sew whatever kinds of suits that you want to talk about. And as long as that is what you are concentrating in, that means that the tailor has a market, has a business, he employs other people, and that is how he expands and grows.
“The issue of Made in Nigeria, and we’re also concerned with the quality. We’re not just talking about for the sake of Made in Nigeria, it has to be competitive in terms of quality. So as we’re pushing this, we’re also pushing under the Nigerian quality policy that the right quality because we need to be competitive. Nigeria is a major player in terms of AfCFTA, and unless we have that required quality, we won’t be able to compete within the African continent,” he said.
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