Federal Executive Council (FEC), yesterday, approved five major memoranda from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, including Nigeria’s long-awaited Industrial Policy 2025, the procurement of electric buses, and key infrastructure projects in Lagos.

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said three of the approved submissions fell under industry, while two related to trade and investment.

One of the approvals includes the supply of 200 electric buses to the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), a move Enoh said would strengthen Nigeria’s automotive development agenda and accelerate the country’s shift to cleaner mobility.

He added that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) had reviewed and approved the contract sum of N58 billion, stressing that the selected contractor has a verifiable track record in local electric vehicle assembly, consistent with the government’s Nigeria First procurement policy.

Council also approved N187.8 billion for the design and construction of the Bank of Industry (BOI) headquarters at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. Enoh said the project aligned with the bank’s expanding mandate in national industrialisation.

Describing it as “the most significant approval of the day,” the minister announced that FEC had formally adopted the Nigerian Industrial Policy 2025, a document developed and validated with national and international partners, including the UNDP.

The policy, he noted, aligned with President Tinubu’s Eight-Point Agenda and provides investors with a clear roadmap for Nigeria’s industrial future.

Enoh said the policy was built on five strategic pillars: industrial infrastructure development and competitiveness, sectoral diversification and value-chain development, investment promotion and business-environment reforms, innovation, technology and digital industrialisation, sustainability, green growth and climate resilience.

According to him, the document includes targeted interventions such as strengthening industrial clusters, improving infrastructure in special economic zones, supporting technology transfer, and boosting local content across manufacturing sectors.

Responding to questions on the “Nigeria First” directive mandating MDAs to patronise locally manufactured vehicles, Enoh said implementation would be gradual and was already underway. (The Guardian)

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