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Dike Onwumaeze

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that the Senate’s resolution calling for a ban on textile fabric imports could impose substantial collateral costs on Nigeria’s over N10 trillion garment-making and tailoring industry, disrupt critical supply chains and jeopardise millions of jobs and livelihoods.

This view was expressed by the Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, is a public statement titled, “Senate’s Textile Import Ban Resolution Risks Doing More Harm Than Good,” which called for structural reforms rather than import prohibition.

Yusuf said: “The proposed textile import’s ban risks undermining a vibrant garment and fashion ecosystem that supports millions of Nigerians while generating substantial domestic value addition. It could also adversely affect the furniture industry, encourage smuggling and reduce customs revenue.

“The challenge confronting Nigeria’s textile industry is fundamentally one of competitiveness rather than import penetration. Sustainable revival will require structural reforms that improve productivity, reduce production costs, revive cotton production, expand access to affordable finance and leverage government procurement to stimulate domestic demand.”

He said that while the objective of reviving Nigeria’s textile industry is legitimate and commendable, an outright import prohibition is unlikely to achieve that objective.

Yusuf argued that the proposal reflected a narrow view of the textile industry’s challenges and overlooked the extensive linkages within Nigeria’s textile, garment, fashion, furniture and creative economy value chains.  

He stated that Nigeria’s fashion, garment-making and tailoring industry is substantially larger than the textile manufacturing segment that the proposed ban would benefit.

He said: “Conservatively valued at about N10 trillion, the industry provides livelihoods for an estimated ten million Nigerians and is one of the country’s most vibrant creative economy sectors.”