Nigeria’s foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, has called for the amendment of the Public Procurement Act to strengthen and institutionalise the Federal Government’s Nigeria First policy, warning that the country’s manufacturing sector faces imminent collapse without urgent legislative intervention.
Speaking at the fifth Adeola Odutola Lecture during the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s (MAN) 53rd yearly general meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Dangote, represented by the immediate past MAN President, Mansur Ahmed, emphasised that for the policy to succeed, it must transcend political administrations and become a binding national strategy for industrial development.
“The Nigeria First Policy represents a bold opportunity to industrialise sustainably. Its success depends on clear legislation, institutional enforcement, stable policy implementation and strong alignment across government agencies and industry,” he stated.
In his keynote lecture, themed: “Nigeria First: Prioritising Patronage of Made in Nigeria,” Dangote presented an eight-point blueprint for revitalising the manufacturing sector, drawing lessons from countries like China, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia.
He noted that China leads globally, with industry and manufacturing accounting for about 25 per cent of its GDP and nearly 30 per cent of world manufacturing output, powered by state support and robust infrastructure. In contrast, Indonesia’s manufacturing contributes around 18 per cent to its GDP, thanks to growth in sectors like automotive, textiles and electronics.
“Each N1 spent on local manufacturing circulates up to N2 within the economy, far exceeding the impact of imports,” he said, making an economic case for prioritising local production.
His recommendations included legislating the Nigeria First Policy with punitive measures for non-compliance, mandating all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to allocate at least 65 per cent of their yearly procurement budgets to locally manufactured products, and establishing an Independent Monitoring and Compliance Agency with authority to conduct real-time audits.
He also called for the development of a National Supplier Registry in collaboration with MAN, a “Buy Made in Nigeria” campaign modelled after India’s “Make in India” initiative and incentives for backward integration to deepen industrial linkages and reduce import dependence.
Dangote used the demise of Nigeria’s textile industry as a moral lesson, noting that the sector once employed over 500,000 people across 180 mills but has suffered from unchecked importation of finished textiles, outdated machinery, inconsistent government support, and inadequate access to affordable financing.
“As cheap imports flooded the market, local manufacturers struggled to compete, leading to factory closures and widespread job losses,” he said, warning that other manufacturing sub-sectors could face similar fates without urgent intervention.
Responding to the manufacturers’ concerns, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Owan Enoh, assured that concrete steps would be taken to operationalise the Nigeria First policy.
The President disclosed that by December 2025, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) will issue guidelines on documentation required when imports are chosen over certified local options.
Tinubu insisted that the policy is not just a slogan, but “a disciplined way to spend, procure and compete,” stressing that the Federal Government prefers Nigerian products that meet standards.
The president outlined his administration’s practical commitments, including tender procurement that upholds local production and the maintenance of a quarterly compliance dashboard from Q1 2026, where the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the BPP will publish a league table showing the share of eligible federal procurements awarded to local manufacturers.
Speaking, MAN’s President, Francis Meshioye, painted a sobering picture of the manufacturing landscape, revealing that following Nigeria’s GDP rebasing, the sector’s contribution declined sharply, with manufacturing contracting in real terms.
“The rebasing confirms that Nigeria’s economy is bigger, but less productive and less industrialised,” he decried, adding that the manufacturing sector is operating in a very challenging environment shaped by FX volatility, high inflation and infrastructure bottlenecks.
He disclosed that the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP showed only a marginal increase from 9.19 to 9.98 per cent in the previous quarter, describing this as sluggish growth that underscores persistent structural hurdles and missed opportunities for industrial advancement.
Meshioye presented a comprehensive 12-point demand to the government, calling for legislation to back the Nigeria First policy with enforcement across all MDAs, tied to performance metrics monitored by the National Bureau of Procurement.
Other demands included setting annual local content benchmarks for government procurement in key sectors such as automobiles, textiles, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing; penalising non-compliance while rewarding MDAs that exceed local content procurement targets and launching a national Made-in-Nigeria Day.
Meshioye also urged the government to facilitate the review and halt unilateral electricity tariff hikes, fast-track investments in infrastructure around industrial clusters, permanently revoke the recent 15 per cent increase in import duty and allocate and operationalise a N1 trillion stabilisation fund for manufacturers.
“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,” he said.
He said that without addressing infrastructure and energy deficits, local manufacturers cannot meet the quality, quantity and delivery timelines required under the Nigeria First Policy.
Dangote called on the government to expedite the modernisation of the national grid and accelerate renewable energy adoption, price gas in local currency to reduce dependence on expensive diesel and dollar-indexed inputs, potentially lowering energy costs by up to 30 per cent.
He also urged the upgrading of roads, rail, and ports around industrial clusters to cut logistics bottlenecks and enable MDAs to source locally without delays.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, encouraged manufacturers to prioritise the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a pathway to scale. “We are negotiating actively to ensure that your goods can have access into key markets across the continent.”
Dangote also echoed this sentiment, noting that by expanding export capacity under AfCFTA, manufacturers can achieve economies of scale, quality standards and market reach needed to deliver consistently under the Nigeria First Policy.
