Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Nigeria’s march toward industrialisation is at risk unless the country urgently fixes its crippling energy supply challenges, the Minister of State for Industry, Mr. John Owan Eno, has warned.
Addressing industry leaders, regulators, manufacturers and oil and gas operators at 14th Practical Nigerian Content Forum, PNC, in Yenagoa, Eno issued one of the strongest government statements yet on the threat energy shortages pose to Nigeria’s economic future.
“Energy is the backbone of industrialisation,” he said. “Gas is the fuel of our future, and power is the oxygen that keeps our industries alive.”
The Minister disclosed that Nigerian manufacturers currently spend 40 to 60 percent of their production costs on energy, an unsustainable burden that undermines competitiveness, raises production costs, and deters investment.
He warned: “Local content cannot flourish in darkness. Industrialisation cannot take root in an environment of unpredictable energy.”
To tackle the crisis, he announced the establishment of a Ministerial Energy Roundtable on Industrial Energy Security, bringing together the Ministries of Gas, Oil and Power alongside NNPCL, BOI, NSIA, InfraCorp, AfDB, Afreximbank and private sector operators.
According to him, the roundtable is expected to deliver concrete solutions, including: Dedicated industrial power corridors, Guaranteed gas supply for industries, Naira-based tariff pilots, embedded generation for industrial clusters, and a unified national framework for industrial energy reliability.
Eno stressed that without stable, affordable and predictable energy, the ambitious National Industrial Policy, NIP, 2025–2035, designed to reposition Nigeria as a production-driven economy, cannot succeed.
“No nation industrialises without energy security. And no investor will build factories where power is unstable,” he said.
The Minister linked industrialisation directly to local content development, describing both as mutually reinforcing pillars of national competitiveness.
“Local content is not just an oil and gas requirement; it is the foundation of industrial competitiveness,” he stated. “No nation scales local content without a strong industrial base.”
He affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to integrating energy planning into industrial policy, insisting that the days of treating both sectors separately were over.
“We must stop operating in silos. Energy and industry must work as one,” he said.
Eno also reiterated government’s commitment to the “Nigeria First Policy,” which prioritises local manufacturing and value retention.
“What Nigeria can produce, Nigeria must not import,” he said. “What Nigerians can do, we must not outsource.”
He urged industry operators to embrace collaboration as a national duty, saying neither government nor the private sector can deliver industrialisation alone.
“Government cannot industrialise Nigeria without the private sector, and the private sector cannot scale without government’s enabling environment,” he added.
Closing his remarks, Eno framed the energy challenge as a defining test of Nigeria’s economic destiny.
“Industrialisation is no longer optional. It is the path to prosperity and national sovereignty,” he said. “Nigeria’s industrial future is waiting to be built, and reliable energy is the key that will unlock it.”
