As businesses and manufacturers prepare for a new financial year, they have renewed calls for better support, stressing that policy consistency and a predictable business environment are critical for sustainable growth.

They noted that an improved business climate would depend on less not more taxation, better infrastructure, affordable energy, easier access to finance and improved security.

They argued that frequent policy changes in recent years have heightened uncertainty, discouraged investment and increased operating costs for businesses.

Urging the government to halt policy somersaults to enable them plan long term and ensure their survival in the new year; they noted that the sector, this year, operated under a highly-challenging policy environment marked by different and sudden macroeconomic reforms, fiscal tightening and regulatory changes.

Chair, Lagos Chapter of the National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Gertrude Akhimien, called for policy cohesiveness, including the creation of a ministerial task force on manufacturing renewal with a one-year mandate starting in 2026.

She also advocated the publication of Nigeria’s first National MSMEs financing landscape to outline lenders, grants and credit guarantees, making funding more accessible to manufacturers and distributors.

Other recommendations included a unified digital one-stop portal for business permits, land access and utilities with clear timelines as well as targeted energy relief for major manufacturing clusters such as agro-processing, plastics and textiles through government-supported solar power solutions.

Former chair of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Apapa chapter and Executive Director, Universal Luggage Ltd, Frank Ike Onyebu, noted that policy stability and predictability are better than frequent reforms they never benefit from. Decrying the worsening state of electricity even in industrial clusters, he said they were forced onto Band A with promises of improved energy which turned out to be a mirage.

“The government and DisCos forced businesses and manufacturers in our cluster onto Band A even when we told them we were not interested. They claimed it was part of their efforts at providing better electricity and despite our numerous protests, migrated us. Our electricity bill is running into millions of Naira monthly and yet, we still spend heavily on alternative energy. How can businesses survive when we spend most of our profit and even capital on providing electricity for ourselves and yet, still have to pay for darkness? Affordable, reliable electricity is the fastest way to revive the real sector. How can we compete with our counterparts from other places that do not have this problem? Every other week, the grid is collapsing and even when it is not collapsing, there is no power to produce. There is simply no infrastructure to encourage production, we cannot continue like this,” he said.

He highlighted the need for efficient ports and lower logistics costs, stressing that it should not be cheaper to import finished goods than to transport raw materials within Nigeria. He also urged that clearing goods or raw materials from the port should be streamlined and made easier for them.

Calling for policies that aid rather than harm the sector, he regretted that most times they are not carried along or even informed before most of the policies are rolled out, hence, leaving them with no input into decisions that affect their wellbeing and survival.

He urged the government to as a matter of urgency, prioritise the real sector in 2026, involve them in policy formulation and remove policies and obstacles hobbling the sector’s growth.