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By Merit Ibe
Nigeria’s annual spending of about $6 billion on imported clothing and textiles has again highlighted the steady decline of its once-thriving textile industry and the growing capital flight draining the nation’s economy.
Despite having abundant cotton and other raw materials, the country continues to depend heavily on imported fabrics, with more than 90 per cent of commonly used textile materials sourced from overseas.
This dependence has weakened local manufacturing, reduced industrial capacity, cost thousands of jobs and placed sustained pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.
Official figures highlight the scale of the industry’s collapse. Between 120 and 155 textile and cotton companies have shut down over the past few decades. While more than 170 textile mills operated across the country during the industry’s peak in the 1980s, fewer than 24 remain operational today.
The worsening situation has renewed calls from the Federal Government, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and other industry stakeholders for stronger import substitution policies, increased investment in local production and comprehensive reforms to revive the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) value chain.
Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, recently disclosed that Nigeria spends about $6 billion annually on textile imports, stressing that reviving the CTG sector is critical to conserving foreign exchange, creating jobs and rebuilding domestic manufacturing.
He expressed concern over the collapse of cotton production, revealing that national output fell sharply from about 2.5 million metric tonnes in 2001 to only 10,000 metric tonnes in 2025. According to him, the Federal Government is prioritising the revival of the cotton, textile and garment industry as part of its broader industrialisation agenda aimed at reducing import dependence and strengthening local value addition.
The Senate has also urged the federal government to impose a comprehensive ban on textile imports, strengthen domestic cotton production and direct the Bank of Industry (BoI) to provide greater financial support for struggling textile companies.
However, the proposal has generated mixed reactions.
MAN Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, urged the government to engage stakeholders before implementing any import ban. He maintained that restrictions must be accompanied by strict enforcement of Executive Order 003, which mandates government agencies to prioritise Made-in-Nigeria products.
Ajayi-Kadir identified high energy costs, multiple regulatory charges, limited access to finance, foreign exchange constraints and unfair competition from imported and smuggled products as key factors undermining the competitiveness of local manufacturers.
He urged the government to remove structural bottlenecks, facilitate backward integration and implement industrial cluster policies that would enable manufacturers to produce competitively for both domestic and export markets.
Similarly, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) warned that an outright import ban could disrupt Nigeria’s large fashion and tailoring industry, increase production costs and create supply chain challenges.
“A blanket ban could jeopardize about 10 million livelihoods across the N17 trillion fashion, garment, and furniture value chains.”
Industry experts argued that import restrictions alone would not revive the sector unless longstanding structural challenges are addressed. They identified unreliable electricity, poor infrastructure, high financing costs, limited access to foreign exchange, outdated equipment and widespread smuggling as major obstacles to competitiveness.
Stakeholders also called for tax incentives, improved transport infrastructure, stronger anti-smuggling measures and increased patronage of locally produced fabrics and garments to stimulate domestic production.
The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) attributed the industry’s decline largely to poor implementation of government policies rather than the absence of policy initiatives.
Its President, Peters Godonu, described the textile sector as a once-vibrant industry that generated massive employment before years of policy inconsistency, neglect and the influx of cheaper imports weakened local production.
He noted that textile exports declined by 55.5 per cent to N16.55 billion in 2025 from N36.98 billion in 2024, while imports surged by 46.11 per cent to N1.061 trillion during the same period, worsening factory closures, investment losses and job cuts.
Godonu criticised the weak implementation of Executive Order 003, the Nigeria First Policy and other intervention programmes, saying there was little evidence that recent initiatives had translated into factory revival, fresh investments or large-scale employment.
“We cannot continue to celebrate motions without movement,” he said, stressing that Africa’s economic transformation depends on industrialisation, local manufacturing and decent jobs.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) also described the Nigeria First Policy as a timely initiative but stressed that its success depends on significantly improving domestic production capacity through reliable power supply, efficient transport networks and other critical infrastructure.
The Chamber further urged the Federal Government to lead by example by prioritising locally manufactured goods across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), while encouraging state governments to adopt similar procurement policies. It also called on the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to launch a nationwide awareness campaign promoting the benefits of buying Nigerian-made products.
LCCI member and SME expert, Daniel Dickson-Okezie, said reviving the industry requires more than import restrictions.
He argued that the government must first address the structural challenges that have made local production uncompetitive.
Dickson-Okezie believes that rebuilding the cotton, textile and garment value chain could substantially reduce Nigeria’s import bill, curb capital flight, create millions of jobs, expand non-oil exports and restore the country’s position as a leading textile manufacturing hub in Africa.
He maintained that while financial support remains important, lasting recovery will depend on consistent policies, improved infrastructure, reliable electricity, stronger border enforcement, incentives for manufacturers and sustained support for domestic cotton production.
“According to industry estimates, a vibrant textile and cotton sector has the potential to create more than 15 million jobs and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic diversification.”
