Lagos, June 29, 2026 – The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), a private think tank, has advised the federal government to revive the local textile sector, rather than ban import of textile fabrics.
The CPPE made the call on Monday in a statement signed by its Chief Executive, Dr Muda Yusuf.
It said the Senate’s resolution calling for a ban on importation of textile fabric is unlikely to achieve its intended objectives and could have significant adverse consequences for the Nigerian economy.
“While the objective of reviving Nigeria’s textile industry is legitimate and commendable, an outright import prohibition is unlikely to achieve that objective.
“The proposed ban could impose substantial collateral costs on downstream industries, disrupt critical supply chains and jeopardise millions of jobs and livelihoods.
“The proposal reflects a narrow view of the textile industry’s challenges and overlooks the extensive linkages within Nigeria’s textile, garment, fashion, furniture and creative economy value chains,” it said.
The CPPE, therefore, called for effective industrial policy to address the underlying constraints to competitiveness of the sector rather than merely restricting imports.
It said the decline of the country’s textile industry is primarily the consequence of longstanding structural constraints rather than import competition.
“These include high energy costs, expensive credit, poor infrastructure, logistics bottlenecks, obsolete technology, smuggling, weak access to long-term finance and policy inconsistency,” it said.
The CPPE said the domestic textile manufacturers currently lacked the capacity to meet the quantity, quality and diversity of fabrics required by Nigeria’s fashion, garment, interior design, and furniture industries.
It said that even at the peak of the textile industry’s performance, local mills did not supply the full range of fabrics demanded by the market.
“An outright import ban would, therefore, create supply shortages, increase production costs and weaken downstream industries that generate significantly more employment than textile manufacturing itself,” it said.
The think-tank suggested a revival of the sector which it requires a comprehensive value-chain approach rather than restrictive trade measures.
It recommended, amongst others, a strategic government procurement programme that will require military, paramilitary agencies, schools and other public institutions to prioritise locally produced textiles and garments for their uniforms.
The centre called for the creation of a Textile Competitiveness Fund to channel part of textile-related import tax revenues into a dedicated fund providing single-digit financing for technology upgrading and industry modernisation.
It also suggested the revival of cotton production across the country by supporting cotton farmers through improved seedlings, mechanisation, extension services, security and guaranteed off-take arrangements.
The CPPE also urged the government to strengthen border enforcement to combat smuggling, while also improving the effectiveness of existing tariff protection.
It also called for improvement of industrial competitiveness through reduction of energy costs, improved infrastructure, lower financing costs as well as creating a more conducive manufacturing environment.
