The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Nigerian government have embarked on a $175 million Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) Flagship Strategy 2024–2028 designed to fast track inclusive and sustainable industrialisation in the country.
The programme, launched in Abuja concurrently with the National Coordination Body (NCB) launch, is to improve agriculture and mineral value chains, start-ups and MSMEs through technology and digitalisation, and build industrial parks, clusters, and special economic zones.
The federal government of Nigeria is contributing some $25 million, or 14.3 percent of the budget, while UNIDO has committed $200,000 for coordination of the programme and will lead mobilization for another $50 million from bilateral partners.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, UNIDO National Programme Officer Dr. Ruben Bamidele described the programme as “transformational journey” that will help make Nigeria an industrially and economically forefront hub in Africa.
He revealed that UNIDO, with the support of the European Union, is building six small-scale power development projects in Nigeria’s geopolitical regions and showcasing biomass schemes in Ebonyi State that produce electricity from rice husks.
UNIDO’s Nigeria and ECOWAS representative, Ambassador Philbert Johnson, described the PCP as a strategy that is aligned with Nigeria’s medium-term industrial plan, adding that it is to “forge new alliances for a diversified, inclusive, and sustainable industrial economy.”
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, praised the alliance, saying that it is proof of Nigeria’s trust in multilateral partnership as an engine of prosperity.
Our economy is developing very rapidly, inflation is declining, and we are preparing a new 2026–2030 national plan. We aim to become a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030 a goal of industrialisation and innovation,” Bagudu added.
Also speaking to the meeting, Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, told the assembly that the PCP identifies broad pillars for Nigeria’s industrialization world-respected renewable energy, agro-industrial growth, green production, and local production all under the government’s Nigeria-first policy.
The PCP is Nigeria’s first country partnership program with UNIDO and is a joint vision towards accelerating industrialization, diversifying the economy, and providing jobs in the next four years.
