The Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, has advocated the need for urgent structural reforms and coordinated policy implementation to drive Nigeria’s industrialisation, warning that macro-economic stability alone will not deliver jobs, higher incomes, or competitiveness.
Mr. Olaniyi Yusuf, Chairman of NESG, made the call on Wednesday during his welcome and opening remarks at the virtual Day Two of the Nigerian Industrialisation and Competitiveness Forum and the launch of the 2026 Half-Year Macro-economic Outlook Report.
According to him, without deep reforms in infrastructure, trade, regulatory environment, and access to finance, Nigeria’s industrial sector will continue to underperform despite improvements in macro indicators.
The Forum is themed: “Aligning Reforms, Investment, and Partnerships for Industrial Growth and Regional Competitiveness.”
He noted that Nigeria’s economy recorded encouraging progress in the first half of 2026 despite global headwinds.
According to him, domestically, GDP grew by 3.9% in Q1-2026 compared to 3.1% in Q1-2025, supported by stronger non-oil sector performance and improved private sector activity.
He said business confidence indices remained in expansion territory.
He explained that the disinflationary trend reversed. Headline inflation rose from 15.1% in January to 15.9% in June, averaging 15.5% in H1-2026, driven by higher fuel, food, and transportation costs.
“On the fiscal side, revenue improved to 2.8% of GDP in Q1-2026 from 1.5% in Q1-2025, while spending moderated to 7.1% of GDP.
“The estimated budget deficit stood at 4.3% of GDP. Public debt rose marginally to a record N159.4 trillion in Q1-2026, though the NESG Debt Burden Index declined to 75.1 points from 78.3 points a year earlier.
“The external sector also strengthened. External reserves rose to US$51.5 billion in H1-2026 from US$37.2 billion, the naira appreciated by about 11% year-on-year, and FDI inflows increased by 42.9% to US$1.0 billion in Q1-2026.
“FPI inflows rose to US$6.0 billion, while the current account surplus widened to US$5.0 billion.
“These are encouraging developments signalling that Nigeria continues to make progress in restoring macroeconomic stability,” Mr. Yusuf said.
“The focus should now be to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation by implementing policies and programmes that translate these gains into broad-based economic growth and inclusive development.”
The NESG Chairman warned that persistent global supply chain disruptions have made it urgent for Nigeria to reduce dependence on hydrocarbon revenues by strengthening its non-oil export base.
“Rapid industrialisation is no longer merely a policy aspiration; it is an economic imperative for strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness within the global production landscape,” he said.
He noted that manufacturing continues to face structural constraints including unreliable electricity, dependence on imported inputs, high borrowing costs, limited long-term finance, skills shortages, low technology adoption, and competition from imports.
As a result, he said, manufacturing accounts for approximately 10% of GDP and only 1.4% of exports in Q1-2026.
While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers market access, Mr. Yusuf stressed: “Market access alone will not make Nigerian firms competitive. We must build the productive capacity to take advantage of that market.”
Yusuf, who unveiled the 2026 Half-Year Macroeconomic Outlook Report entitled: “Turning Potential into Progress: Accelerating Nigeria’s Industrialisation for Economic Transformation and Inclusion”, said the report provides a framework linking industrialisation to social inclusion through three reinforcing pillars: Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes.”
A comparative assessment with China, South Korea, and Vietnam shows substantial gaps across all three pillars.
The lesson, he said, is that “successful industrialisation begins with strong inputs including strong institutions, infrastructure, skills, technology, finance, trade integration, and macroeconomic stability.”
These then generate higher outputs and ultimately inclusive outcomes like
decent employment and poverty reduction.
He urged government to move “from mere policy announcements to delivery” and to address weaknesses that undermined past strategies: weak institutional coordination, poor execution, discontinuity, and inadequate monitoring.
He recommended reducing fragmentation across institutions and improving federal-state coordination on the Nigeria Industrial Policy (NIP) 2025.
Yusuf called for strengthening, monitoring and accountability and ensuring continuity across political cycles as well as aligning industrial, fiscal, monetary, trade, and infrastructure policies.
He advocated the mobilisation of diverse sources of patient capital through DFIs, blended finance, credit enhancement, and private sector participation, targeted at manufacturing firms and MSMEs with potential for jobs, exports, and value addition.