The 2025 Nigeria International Trade Fair opened on Friday at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex with renewed calls for stronger investment, industrial growth and policy consistency.
The event, organised by the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex Management Board (LITFCMB), drew senior government officials, industry leaders and exhibitors from across the country.
In her opening remarks, the Executive Director of LITFCMB, Vera Safiya Ndanusa,
reaffirmed the Board’s statutory mandate to organise trade fairs across Nigeria and its renewed focus on restoring the Complex as a functional, nationally relevant centre for business.
She noted that the Fairground is being repositioned to support enterprise growth, investment inflow, and wider participation across sectors.
“Our goal is to create and sustain an environment where trade thrives, businesses can scale, and investment can flow freely,” she said. “A truly vibrant trade ecosystem must be inclusive, and inclusivity begins with access.”
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, reinforced the Fair’s importance in the current economic landscape, noting that the platform continues to shape the direction of trade and business nationwide.
“This Trade Fair and this physical space continue to shape the future of trade and business in Nigeria, especially at a time where global uncertainty, ongoing economic reforms, and an evolving business climate demand resilience and partnership,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Former Niger State governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu described the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment as vital to Nigeria’s economic recovery.
“Many people may not appreciate and may not understand that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is probably one of the two or three most important ministries in this country… the basis, the foundation of our economy,” he said.
He said reviving the ministry’s capacity would help reactivate dormant industries in Kaduna, Kano and other industrial centres, saying, “If we take this ministry very seriously, I believe that the dead industries in Kaduna, in Kano and in other major areas will come back to life. Leadership requires vision. Vision will give room to goals and to dreams.”
Aliyu also called for increased funding for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, noting that “Investment is not only for those high class. Investment means from the smallest trader to the biggest trader.”
Minister of State for Industry John Owan Enoh, who was invited to the stage as “a friend of commerce and a friend of industry”, said that “for decades, this trade fair has stood as a symbol of Nigerian enterprise, Nigerian creativity, Nigerian resilience and our yielding spirit about what the possibilities are”.
Enoh also described the exhibitors present as the heart of Nigeria’s economic future, stating that he “sees a gathering of visionary minds of manufacturers, farmers, digital creators, investors and small business owners. I do not just see a marketplace; I see the engine room of our nation’s future.”
