FMITI, BPE to Assess Performance of Privatised Industries,

• As ministry conducts national MSMEs census

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has announced it would collaborate with the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to review the performances of privatised publicly owned industries and compare them against the original objectives of the federal government’s privatisation exercise. 

The FMITI said this review would be one of its priority focuses in 2026.

Another priority area of the ministry’s activities in 2026 also includes the carrying out of a national census that would ascertain the actual numbers of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

Other priority areas are the launching of Made-in-Nigeria national campaign, industrial cluster development, women-led business and long-term finance, value chain transformation, AI and digital industrial governance, and the Industrial Revolution Working Group (IRWG) ministerial roundtables.

These were revealed in the “FMITI’s 2026 Outlook” released yesterday which revealed that some of the measurable impacts of the ministry in 2025 included the attainment of $21 billion capital importation, non-oil export of $6.1 billion, N4.82 trillion intra-African Trade in H1’2025, an access to finance by 115,000 MSMEs that received grants, loans and trade finance through Bank of Industry, Nigerian Export and Import Bank, and Nigeria Export Promotion Council’s initiatives.

It said: “Working with the BPE, this priority area will see the structured evaluation of privatised industrial assets to assess performance against original privatisation objectives, including operational efficiency, investment commitments, job creation, and value-chain contribution.”

It added: “A core priority is the launch of a national MSMEs’ census, replacing estimates with evidence and providing a reliable data backbone for industrial planning, targeted incentives, and measurable impact.”

The FMITI said the 2026 Outlook marked a deliberate shift from policy design to policy delivery.

“If 2025 focused on policy architecture, 2026 is positioned as the first full year of implementation.

“Accordingly, the ministry’s industrial priorities are focused, sequenced, and execution-driven, anchored on building a credible evidence base, activating demand, and strengthening domestic productive capacity,” it said.

The FMITI explained that “a national MSMEs’ census will replace estimates with evidence, providing the data backbone for industrial planning, targeted incentives, and measurable impact, while a Made-in-Nigeria national campaign will give practical -expression to the Nigeria First policy by mobilising consumer confidence, reinforcing standards, aligning procurement signals, and progressively reducing import dependence.

“Implementation will concentrate on productivity, scale, and execution across priority value chains. Industrial cluster development will be piloted through shared infrastructure and services to unlock efficiency and competitiveness, complemented by dedicated long-term financing frameworks that expand patient capital for women-led industrial and MSMEs enterprises and integrate them into priority value chains.”

It also said the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector “will serve as a flagship execution pilot, transitioning from fragmented interventions to a coordinated, demand-anchored value chain.

“Delivery will be reinforced through AI-enabled digital industrial governance, structured reviews of privatised industrial assets to ensure performance and value-chain contribution, and focused ministerial roundtables that resolve binding constraints and accelerate results.”

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the ministry’s activities in 2025 was guided under the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that focused on delivery by strengthening facilitation, coordination and outcomes.

Oduwale said: “Investment outcomes reflected this execution focus. Total capital importation reached approximately $21 billion in the first 10 months of 2025, up from $12.3 billion in 2024 and $3.9 billion in 2023.

“The ministry strengthened investment facilitation and aftercare by curating a pipeline of over $5 billion in bankable projects, undertaking more than 150 bilateral and investor engagements, convening five deal rooms and sector roundtables including a Domestic Investor Summit, and tracking over $50 billion in signed commitments from Presidential engagements, with approximately 25 percent progressing toward implementation.”

 She added: “In 2026, we build on this foundation with a focus on delivering results through integration. The priority is to connect global and regional demand with Nigeria’s supply capacity and the capital required to scale it.

“This includes strengthening industrial clusters and Special Economic Zones, deepening African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation, and aligning investment with priority sectors and value chains.

“We will   prioritise   converting   investment commitments into active projects, expanding export- ready production, and strengthening logistics and digital trade infrastructure to accelerate execution across priority value chains.

“This approach will translate opportunity into production into exports, and exports into jobs and prosperity.”