MANEG Chairman Calls for Faster Policy Execution, Stronger Government-Industry Collaboration to Boost Nigeria’s Manufacturing Sector
Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group (MANEG) and Director, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), Ruth Owojaiye, has called for stronger policy execution, regulatory coordination and industry-government collaboration to translate Nigeria’s economic reforms into tangible gains for manufacturers and consumers.
Owojaiye made the call as a panellist at the Nigeria Manufacturing & Trade Outlook 2026, during a session titled “Reform and Reality: Nigeria’s Manufacturing Sector at an Inflection Point.” The event, themed “Competing Globally, Building Locally: Nigeria’s Manufacturing Imperative,” brought together business leaders, policymakers, investors and industry stakeholders.
Addressing the gap between macroeconomic reforms and realities on the factory floor, Owojaiye acknowledged progress in the wider economy but noted that its benefits had yet to translate sufficiently into stronger consumer purchasing power and lower operating costs.
“There is still a gap between the macroeconomic benefits that everybody sees and how it drills down to the person who buys the product,” she averred. She urged policymakers to place as much emphasis on effective implementation as on policy formulation, calling for coordinated regulatory processes, clearer guidelines and predictable timelines.
“For the reforms to work, execution needs to be 100 per cent,” she posited, noting that regulatory delays and duplication can disrupt production, increase costs and undermine investment decisions.
Owojaiye also advocated stronger engagement between regulators and manufacturers, including structured consultations and greater understanding of factory-floor realities. She identified electricity and logistics as priority areas requiring sustained intervention, because of their significant impact on manufacturing costs, while calling for targeted incentives to support manufacturers investing in alternative energy solutions.
On Nigeria’s export ambitions, the MANEG Chairman enunciated the country must strengthen its domestic manufacturing base to fully capitalise on opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She stressed that competitive production, reliable infrastructure, efficient logistics, appropriate standards and a predictable regulatory environment are critical to enabling Nigerian products to compete effectively across African markets.
Using BAT Nigeria’s Ibadan factory as an example, Owojaiye highlighted, the potential of competitive Nigerian manufacturing to serve both domestic and international markets. The factory serves as a regional manufacturing hub, exporting to 13 countries across West and Central Africa and the United States, while generating more than $300 million in export revenue between 2022 and 2024. She elucidated that competitiveness increasingly depends on manufacturers’ ability to integrate sustainability, technology and operational efficiency into their businesses, citing the example of BAT Nigeria that has transitioned its manufacturing operations to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)and had installed a 1.4MW solar system at its Ibadan factory in 2023.
On digital transformation, Owojaiye highlighted BAT Nigeria’s use of manufacturing data and utility-monitoring technologies to improve operational efficiency, optimise resource use and support more data-driven decision-making.
Owojaiye cautioned against viewing economic reforms through a “winners and losers” lens, stressing that sustainable growth requires an ecosystem in which businesses of different sizes and across sectors can succeed.
“Nobody needs to lose. It has to be a win-win,” she avowed. She urged the government to continuously review reforms based on implementation outcomes, noting that industrial transformation would require sustained, measurable progress rather than an expectation of immediate results.
“It’s not a journey that we can fix in one year or two years… but we must keep moving forward in measurable steps” she admitted, reiterating that manufacturing remains central to Nigeria’s economic diversification, job creation, revenue generation and export ambitions.
