Nigeria Records 173% Growth in Manufacturing Exports – Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that Nigeria’s manufacturing exports rose by 173 percent since he assumed office in May 2023, describing the growth as a major sign of economic diversification.

Speaking in his Independence Day broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 65th anniversary, Tinubu said the country had maintained a trade surplus for five consecutive quarters, making Nigeria a net exporter for the first time in years.

“We are now selling more to the world than we are buying, a fundamental shift that strengthens our currency and creates jobs at home,” the president declared. “Nigeria’s trade surplus increased by 44.3 percent in Q2 2025 to ₦7.46 trillion ($4.74 billion), the largest in about three years.”

According to him, non-oil exports now account for 48 percent of total trade, while oil exports stand at 52 percent, a development he described as proof of Nigeria’s move away from decades of dependence on crude oil.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that manufacturing exports grew from ₦294 billion in Q1 2025 to ₦803.8 billion in Q2 2025, representing a 173 percent quarter-on-quarter increase and a 67.2 percent rise year-on-year.

Key export items included light vessels and floating cranes worth ₦212.04 billion to the Netherlands and ₦24.1 billion to France. Other significant exports were drilling platforms valued at ₦90.43 billion to Equatorial Guinea, as well as unwrought aluminum alloys worth ₦55.71 billion and ₦7.62 billion to Japan and India respectively.

Europe remained Nigeria’s largest destination for manufactured goods with exports valued at ₦357.70 billion, followed by Africa with ₦254.07 billion, and Asia with ₦168.53 billion.

Tinubu maintained that these gains mark a turning point for the nation’s industrial sector and foreign exchange earnings, adding that “Nigeria is on the path of building a stronger, more resilient economy.”