Manufacturing output growth resulting from bank lending is of serious interest both in the literatures, the industry and the general economy. Against this backdrop our study seeks to investigate the empirical link between bank lending financial intermediation and performance of the manufacturing sector for the period running between 1980-2016. Data for the study are gathered from a secondary source in the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin. The method of ordinary least square technique is used to analyze dataset. The findings reveal that the two variables independently tested have positive effects on bank credit and manufacturing sector contribution to GDP. Bank deposits positively influenced credits disbursed to non-financial sectors of the economy which is predominantly to the advantage of real sector manufacturers. We therefore conclude that there is a positive and significant relationship between bank deposit and bank credit. There is also a positive and significant relationship between bank credit to manufacturing sector and manufacturing sector contribution to GDP. The result underscores the essential role of continuous lending by deposit money banks to domestic manufacturing industry in Nigeria. Lastly, supply-leading hypothesis is valid.