The 2026 Appropriation Bill has budgeted a sum of N105m to aid in completing ongoing projects, including an 80 per cent-completed Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan of 2014, which ties to the cotton-textile-garment and other ailing sectors. This funding comes on the heels of the National Industrial Policy of 2026, ARINZE NWAFOR writes

The Federal Government has earmarked N105m for the completion of a programme to revive ailing industrial sectors, including textiles, automobiles, solid minerals and leather, under the 2026 Appropriation Bill. This comes as the government launched its new National Industrial Policy in January.

The government allocated the sum from the total N58.47tn spending proposal that President Bola Tinubu submitted to the National Assembly.

The budget breakdown shows that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will receive N56m for the “Implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan on Solid Mineral, Auto, Cotton-Textile and Garment, Agro Processing and Leather at 80 per cent Implementation.”

It also assigned N49m for the “Implementation of NIRP: Engagement on the Implementation of the Cotton Textile and Garment Policy”.

The government launched the NIRP in 2014 as the country’s most comprehensive roadmap for industrialisation. The plan aims to diversify the economy away from heavy reliance on crude oil by increasing the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from approximately 4 per cent to over 10 per cent.

It focused on import substitution, producing locally what was previously imported, and expanding export-led growth to create jobs and stabilise Nigeria’s trade balance.

The strategy builds upon four core industrial pillars where Nigeria holds a significant competitive advantage: agro-allied (including food processing, textiles, and leather), solid minerals (such as cement and basic metals), oil and gas-related industries (petrochemicals and fertilisers), and construction, light manufacturing, and services.

The NIRP, originally designed to run for five years, from its launch in February 2014 until 2019, evolved through several phases, including the Original Phase (2014–2019) and the Integration Phase (2020–2025).

Rather than being terminated in 2019, the government integrated the NIRP’s core pillars into successor national blueprints. It was first rolled into the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017–2020 and is currently a foundational part of the National Development Plan 2021–2025.

New industrial policy

On 15 January 2026, the Federal Government launched the country’s new National Industrial Policy, setting out a framework to accelerate job creation, boost productivity and deliver sustainable economic growth.

Minister of State for Industry John Enoh said the new policy fills a longstanding gap in Nigeria’s economic architecture.

He noted that, for the first time in several years, the country now has a clearly defined and nationally validated industrial policy.

Enoh explained that Nigeria entered the current administration without a formal industrial framework, a weakness repeatedly highlighted by development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme.

That absence, he said, made structured engagement on industrial development difficult and limited long-term planning.

Ailing sectors

Meanwhile, in 2025, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government is considering modernising 50 per cent of Nigeria’s operational textile capacity with state-of-the-art equipment within five years as part of a broader revitalisation agenda.

This came after a report by The PUNCH that textile imports rose to N814.27bn in the first nine months of 2025, despite the government’s promises to turn the sector around.

The upgrade forms part of the government’s internal plans to introduce tax breaks, establish a national textile training institute, and provide single-digit interest rate loans to revive the textile industry.

The proposals, contained in a December 2025 document obtained by The PUNCH, showed that the government is considering modernising 50 per cent of Nigeria’s operational textile capacity with state-of-the-art equipment within five years as part of a broader revitalisation agenda.

The document, titled “Annex I: Recommendations for the Revitalisation of the CTG Sector”, was authored by the Cotton, Textile and Garment Division of the Industrial Development Department, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

On the leather development side, The PUNCH also reported that in the first half of 2025, Nigeria recorded a N173.04bn trade deficit in the raw hides, skins, and leather sector, as stakeholders lamented the effects of banditry on livestock production, a weak business environment, a declining workforce, outdated tannery machines, and the local culture of eating ponmo, which is cooked cow skin.

The PUNCH learnt from leather manufacturers that a significant portion of the raw hides imported into Nigeria does not end up in tanneries but in cooking pots.

The high cost of meat has driven the populace, particularly in the south and increasingly in the north, to consume hides and skins as a cheaper alternative to beef for protein.

Chairman of the Textile, Leather, Garment and Wearing Apparel Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Lawan Garo, stated that importers exploit loopholes to bring in hides for consumption.

Garo said, “Seventy per cent of the goods imported into the country are for mere eating. That is what we import. We hardly import finished leather; rather, it is for ‘ponmo’. In Nigeria, we always try to use loopholes to make more money out of the edicts that the government gives us the chance to do. I will send you the pictures because 70 per cent of those imported raw hides are for eating. It is not for the tanning industry or the shoe industry.”

On auto development, The PUNCH reported that Nigerian auto manufacturers are confident that in less than a decade, they can manufacture up to 50 per cent of auto components locally.

A piece of legislation that seeks to make it a law for federal ministries, departments, and agencies to only purchase vehicles made or assembled locally is boosting the sector’s momentum.

The automotive manufacturing sector foresees a potential turnaround in its fortunes following the second reading of the Local Automobile Industry Patronage Bill 2025 in the Senate on 15 May. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Patrick Ndubueze explaine, “Nigeria has consistently ignored homegrown products in favour of foreign alternatives that are not necessarily superior.”

Ndubueze bemoaned the fact that out of Nigeria’s 54 licensed automobile manufacturers, only six companies remain operational, signifying the scope of the industry’s decline.

The legislation, which builds on the Nigeria First procurement policy signed by President Tinubu in May, is expected to formalise what had long been a policy position but lacked statutory backing.

When passed, the bill will compel government institutions to support indigenous automotive manufacturers in line with broader goals to stimulate local production, conserve foreign exchange, and boost employment.

Chairman of the Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association, Bawo Omagbitse, said the bill represents a significant policy milestone for the country’s industrialisation drive.

Omagbitse explained, “It’s not altogether new for the industry, but most of the prior policies were not granted any legal backing. To the extent that this is going to be backed by law, NAMA believes it is a major milestone, not just for the automotive sector, but for the economy as a whole.”