ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to enact the Nigeria First Policy into law as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s manufacturing sector.
Speaking at the 2025 BusinessDay Manufacturing Conference in Lagos on Thursday, MAN’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, emphasized that formally gazetting the policy would ensure consistent implementation across government agencies and the private sector.
‘Nigeria First’ is a procurement policy that requires federal ministries, departments, and agencies to give preference to locally produced goods in their spending plans.
Ajayi-Kadir noted that the manufacturing sector already weighed down by high interest rates stands to benefit significantly if the policy becomes legally binding.
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He recommended “Make the Nigeria First Policy a binding law, and punitive measures should be put in place for violators. This is critical to give the policy legal standing, ensuring transparency, public awareness, and enforceability across government institutions and the private sector.”
He warned that without legal backing, the Nigeria First policy could end up like previous executive orders 003 and 005, which failed to achieve meaningful results due to weak enforcement structures.
Ajayi-Kadir added, “Nigeria must seize this moment to transform its manufacturing sector by prioritising the patronage of local products. If we fail to nurture our own, we will forever be at the mercy of others.”
He also highlighted the growing challenges facing manufacturers, revealing that 767 manufacturing firms shut down in 2023, resulting in the loss of over 18,000 jobs in 2024.
He blamed rising operating costs, inconsistent government policies, poor infrastructure, and a weakening naira for the sector’s decline.
MAN also called on the government to urgently address the $2.4 billion in unresolved foreign exchange forwards, reverse the recent 15 per cent increase in port charges by the Nigerian Ports Authority, and remove the suspended 4 per cent Free on Board (FOB) levy on exports.
In addition, Ajayi-Kadir urged the government to speed up the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project, which he said could deliver 3.6 gigawatts of electricity to the national grid and ease energy costs for manufacturers.
MAN further appealed to the Federal Government to adopt the association’s 2024 Manufacturers Summit Report as a blueprint for national industrial development, warning, “A nation without a clear industrial policy is like a ship without a rudder.”