NESG: Nigeria’s high production costs threaten industrial competitiveness

By Favour Ulebor The Nigeria Economic Summit Group has warned that high production costs, unreliable electricity and poor logistics infrastructure are undermining Nigeria’s industrial competitiveness, calling for a council within the Presidency to coordinate industrialisation policies. Co-facilitator of the NESG, Lumun Feese, said Nigeria needed a coordinated approach to industrial development to address structural challenges and enable local manufacturers to compete effectively in African markets.

She spoke at a breakout session on building an integrated industrial ecosystem during the 32nd Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja. Feese said Nigeria had dropped from eighth to 14th position on the African Development Bank’s Africa Industrialisation Index, although she noted that the methodology had changed and more countries had been included in the latest ranking.

She said, “We are not maximising our potential and our large economy. “How do we go and compete in South Africa when our cost of production is so high? Feese said the proposed industrialisation, competitiveness and regional integration council would provide a central coordinating platform within the Presidency to align government policies, improve implementation of the National Industrial Policy and strengthen private-sector participation.

She said Nigerian businesses needed reliable power, efficient transportation systems and lower production costs to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which offers access to a wider continental market. Feese said the recommendations followed consultations on mining, the blue economy, power, oil and gas, and industrial competitiveness.

She urged businesses and other stakeholders to sustain their engagement with the NESG’s Industrial Policy Commission, saying coordinated policies and consistent implementation were necessary to achieve measurable industrial growth. Other stakeholders at the session identified limited access to finance, skills shortages, regulatory bottlenecks, security concerns and inadequate export infrastructure as major obstacles to industrial growth.

Special Assistant on Strategy to the Minister of State for Industry, Gerald Okunsebor, called for greater awareness of the National Industrial Policy and a clear implementation framework with defined responsibilities, timelines and accountability mechanisms. He said a central knowledge-management system was also needed to ensure continuity in industrial development policies across successive administrations.