Stock rally reflects Nigeria's economic health, says Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu said the sustained rally on the Nigerian Exchange is a clear signal of growing investor confidence and the improving health of Nigeria’s economy, speaking at the national launch of the National Industrial Policy 2025 in Abuja on Tuesday. The policy, unveiled at an event attended by top government officials, captains of industry, investors and development partners, was presented as a roadmap to reposition Nigeria as a competitive industrial economy and to anchor production, competitiveness and jobs at the centre of economic strategy.

Direct quote

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu said: “Anyone following the trend in the Nigerian stock exchange would be overexcited.” He added, “A friend of mine called me yesterday out of fear that his stocks increased by N1.7 bn in value within 24 hours. That showed the vibrancy. Despite all the negativities, Nigeria is indeed a great nation.”

Context and details

The president linked the equities rally to a combination of policy actions and market factors. The Nigerian equities market has experienced a sustained bullish run over the past year, driven, the address noted, by economic reforms, foreign exchange market adjustments, rising corporate earnings and renewed investor interest. Pension fund investments, local institutional investors and improved liquidity were also highlighted as supporting the rally, making the stock exchange “a major barometer of economic confidence.”

• Policy launched: National Industrial Policy 2025, themed around “Implementing Nigeria’s industrial future.”
• Key participants: Vice President Kashim Shettima represented the president; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment John Enoh spoke at the event.
• Corporate recognition: Tinubu praised industrialists including Aliko Dangote, noting that “In 2025, the Dangote industries, the cement sector alone, paid us N900 bn in taxes.”

Officials presented the policy as a corrective to longstanding problems—fragmented value chains, high production costs, infrastructure gaps and policy inconsistencies—and placed heavy emphasis on implementation. “This policy is a product of thorough introspection and a roadmap for re‑engineering our industrial base, unlocking value across sectors and placing production, competitiveness and jobs at the centre of Nigeria’s economic strategy,” Tinubu said. He warned that “industrialisation is not a wish you think about. It is an action you perform.”

The government used the shea sector as a case study of disciplined industrial policy. Minister John Enoh recalled the August 2025 ban on raw shea nut exports, saying: “In August 2025, Mr President took a difficult but necessary decision: the prohibition of the export of raw shea nuts.” Enoh said the West African region accounts for nearly 95 per cent of global shea nut production, with Nigeria providing almost half, and that the global industry is valued at over $6.5 bn. According to the minister, crushing capacity now approaches 300,000 metric tonnes annually and shea butter exports rose by 250 per cent within one year, transforming local processing and farmer incomes.

Outlook

Government leaders stressed that success will be judged by tangible outputs: factories opened, jobs created and exports that retain value within Nigeria. “This administration will not measure success by the number of documents we produce. It will measure success by the number of factories opened, by the jobs created for our young men and women, by the exports that leave our coasts bearing the mark of Nigerian excellence,” Tinubu said. Private sector executives, including Boye Olusanya, Group MD/CEO of Flour Mills of Nigeria, welcomed the clarity the policy promises, saying it “will accelerate investment decisions” and drive additional investment where predictability and implementation are delivered.