Nigeria’s push to triple manufacturing’s share of the economy will stall unless the country builds more of the engineering capacity factories depend on, industry operators have said. At the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s 54th Annual General Meeting in Lagos last week, the Federal Government set a target of raising manufacturing’s contribution to GDP to between 20 and 25 per cent by 2030. The sector’s share fell from 8.42 percent in 2023 to 8.05 percent in 2025.
Dorman Long Engineering Limited, which has fabricated industrial structures and equipment in Nigeria since 1949, says the target depends as much on fabrication yards as on factories. “We have had local content targets in this country for over two decades, and they work best where there is real capacity on the ground to meet them.
If we want manufacturing at 25 percent of GDP, we need to invest in building the engineering base first, not after,” said Chris Ijeli, Managing Director/CEO of Dorman Long Engineering. The Nigerian Manufacturing Opportunity Report 2026, published by market intelligence firm SEID and launched at the AGM, puts untapped manufacturing opportunities at more than ₦40 trillion. Imports met 64 percent of local demand for manufactured goods in 2025; a $29.4 billion market domestic producers did not serve.
The dependence reaches below finished goods. National Bureau of Statistics data shows raw material imports reached ₦3.53 trillion in the first half of 2025, up 19.7 per cent year on year. SEID’s report links the shortfall to weak value chains and calls for stronger energy, logistics, infrastructure and technical skills to help local producers compete. Factories rely on steel structures, process equipment, storage tanks and corrosion-protected components, much of which is still imported.
Engineering firms that can supply these locally shorten project timelines and reduce foreign exchange exposure.