Enoh: We Must Act Now to Usher New Industrial Revolution

James Emejo in Abuja

Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, yesterday, called for united and concrete measures to usher a new industrial revolution in the country.

Speaking at the opening of the 16th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment (NCITI), in Lagos, Enoh said the council was not just “another policy gathering – it is a clarion call to transform ambition into action”.

He said, “We stand on the edge of a new industrial dawn. The time to act is not tomorrow – it is now.”

The minister said the country’s economic transformation hinged squarely on the bold agenda of the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG) – a cross-sectoral initiative he inaugurated in February.

Addressing a high-level audience comprising federal and state officials, captains of industry, and development partners, the minister described IRWG as “a strategic engine room designed to dismantle legacy barriers, ignite real sector productivity, and position Nigeria as a continental powerhouse of value-added manufacturing”.

He said, “As the curtain falls on this year’s council meeting, one thing is clear: Nigeria’s industrial story is being rewritten-not in theory, but in steel, concrete, cotton, ethanol, and enterprise.

“This council is not just another policy gathering-it is a clarion call to transform ambition into action. We stand on the edge of a new industrial dawn. The time to act is not tomorrow-it is now.”

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Adviser, Strategic Communications,

Ifeoma Williams, Enoh called on stakeholders to “move from rhetoric to results” by aligning with the IRWG to unlock financing for MSMEs, activate dormant industrial zones, and build thriving, employment-generating clusters across the federation.

The 16th session of the council, held under the theme, “Accelerating Diversification by Leveraging Industry, Trade and Investment for Shared Prosperity,” reviewed a total of 75 memoranda, including 40 information items and 30 actionable recommendations, marking a significant step towards a more implementation-focused industrial agenda.

Addressing the plenary, the minister struck a chord with his compelling vision.

He outlined the five foundational pillars of IRWG, namely, Financing and Investment Transformation; Energy and Infrastructure Modernisation; Regulatory Reforms and Ease of Doing Business; Product Standards and Market Expansion; and Human Capital Development and Industrial Innovation. Enoh emphasised that these were no longer theoretical constructs, but real-world levers already being activated nationwide.

Under the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the minister unveiled a suite of transformative projects set for launch in the coming months.

The projects included agro-processing hubs in Kano, for turning cassava into ethanol and starch while powering thousands of new jobs; textile clusters in Aba and Lagos, poised to reposition both cities as regional powerhouses for garment manufacturing and export; and a pharmaceutical production enclave in Ogun State, aimed at securing Nigeria’s medicine supply chains and drastically cutting import dependency.

Enoh said, “This is no time for pilot programmes or policy lip service. We are entering an era of full-scale industrialization-where every investment, every reform, every decision must drive us toward a globally competitive, inclusive, and innovation-led economy.”

He also extended a decisive call to the private sector and sub-national governments

to “embrace this momentum with both hands,” declaring that the IRWG offers an

unprecedented opportunity to convert Nigeria’s vast potential into measurable industrial might.