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Stories by Merit Ibe
The Nigeria First Policy, approved by the Federal Government last year, represents a bold attempt to reposition the economy by prioritising locally made goods and services in public procurement.
At its core, the policy mandates that no foreign goods or services already available in Nigeria should be procured by government institutions without clear justification and a waiver from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
By directing public spending towards domestic producers, the policy seeks to strengthen local industries, conserve foreign exchange, create jobs and stimulate inclusive economic growth.
Stakeholders agree that the intent of the Nigeria First Policy is commendable, but many argue that its success hinges largely on Nigeria’s ability to rebuild and expand its local productive capacity.
Years of economic stress, weak infrastructure, high production costs and policy inconsistency have forced many manufacturers to shut down or operate far below capacity.
As a result, critics warn that a Nigeria First Policy without adequate local capacity risks remaining a well-meaning declaration rather than a transformative economic tool.
Stakeholders agree that for the Nigeria First Policy to deliver lasting impact, it must move beyond declarations to sustained, coordinated action that rebuilds capacity, enforces compliance and gives the private sector the clear, long-term signals it needs to invest and grow.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has been at the forefront of advocacy for the policy, repeatedly stressing that implementation remains its biggest challenge.
MAN’s Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, lamented that despite long-standing engagement with the government, weak enforcement has continued to undermine Nigeria-first initiatives.
“We have always prioritised creating Nigeria First, but the problem has always been implementation,”Ajayi-Kadir said.
He noted, however, that recent actions by public procurement authorities suggest renewed momentum to enforce local content principles across ministries, departments and agencies.
According to Ajayi-Kadir, MAN believes that giving effect to the President’s directive through procurement is critical to reviving domestic manufacturing and restoring investor confidence.
MAN President, Francis Meshioye, described the Nigeria First Policy as not merely aspirational but an economic necessity, arguing that decades of import dependence have stifled industrial growth.
Meshioye warned that Nigeria cannot sustainably subsidise jobs and industries in other countries through unchecked imports while local factories struggle with low capacity utilisation.
He stressed that every industrialised nation began by deliberately nurturing its local industries through targeted policies and strategic use of procurement.
“If we do not intentionally support our own manufacturers, we will not be able to compete globally.
“It is unsustainable for Nigeria to continue subsidising the production and employment of other nations through unchecked imports, while our own factories continue to record low capacity utilisation and serial underperformance.
“Every industrialised country began its journey by nurturing local content and leveraging public and private procurement as an avenue for galvanising scale production and economic development. Nigeria must not go the opposite direction.”
Echoing this view on the policy, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, called for legislation to institutionalise the Nigeria First Policy and make it binding.
Dangote believes that protection alone is insufficient, noting that competitiveness depends on sustained investments in infrastructure, technology, skills development and backward integration.
He urged the amendment of the Public Procurement Act to embed the Nigeria First Policy, proposing sanctions, compliance monitoring and mandatory local procurement thresholds for MDAs.
According to Dangote, policy predictability and consistency are essential, warning that weak enforcement could erode investor confidence and reverse potential gains.
President Bola Tinubu has maintained that the Nigeria First Policy is not a slogan but a strategic vision to channel demand towards locally made goods that meet global standards.
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Supporting this stance, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Enoh, promised clear timelines for implementation, including compliance dashboards and sectoral benchmarks by early 2026.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged that the policy be implemented in alignment with regional and continental trade obligations, particularly AfCFTA.
LCCI Director General, Chinyere Almona, stressed that competitiveness, not protectionism, should guide execution, alongside infrastructure investment, affordable credit and regulatory reforms.
Team Lead, Calabar and Gulf of Guinea Municipal and Trade Centre Limited By Guarantee, David Etim, caution that rebuilding productive capacity will take time, noting that manufacturing and agriculture both require long gestation periods before results can be felt.
“It’s not an instant thing.
That a statement is made today, tomorrow you expect it to produce result, it’s not possible. It’s a process and that process.
The policy requires time to gestate and come up.
“So yes, there must be legislation, but even the legislation is only to create that enabling environment.
The enabling environment, then the implementation comes.
“The Nigeria First policy is a very good policy, but for you to have Nigeria First in terms of a government policy, you need to have productive capacity.
“Nigeria First policy without productive capacity is just a piece of paper. So, building that capacity will take time, because a lot of industries have shut down over some time, so having a Nigeria First policy is very good,but for production, manufacturing to take place, you must have capacity.
“The average timeline to build a factory is two years, whatever factory you want to put in place, minimum from land acquisition, development, everything, will take about two years. So a Nigeria First policy that was pronounced last year, it would really not have gained the traction that is expected yet.
“The private sector needs a five year clear line of sight.
Nigeria First policy came out last year, this is the first year. Now moving forward, it’s going to take time because you have production to build.
If you want to do Nigeria First policy in agriculture, you must plant the crops. The fastest any crop you will plant is 90 days to produce. You must harvest it, you must process it, you must move it forward.
There’s nothing instant about it.
It’s the right mindset. As I said the gestation period between an enunciation of a policy and its impact on the ground is averagely two years.
Government makes a policy statement and the whole public service aligns behind that policy and tries to realize it.
“Before the man on the street will feel the impact of that policy that was enunciated, it’s going to take him two years. And that is two years of consistent focus and movement.
“So everything is happening as it’s supposed to happen. No delay, no undermining.
Everybody’s working towards that goal.
It takes two years, not to talk of where the people start politicizing issues.”
However, the Director General of BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, insists that existing legislation already provides sufficient powers to enforce the policy, with compliance being the real gap.
He disclosed that the government is working on a formal framework that would be gazetted to institutionalise the Nigeria First Policy across sectors.
