The Nigerian Government is considering modernising 50 per cent of Nigeria’s operational textile capacity with state-of-the-art equipment within five years as part of a broader revitalisation agenda.

According to the report by Punch newspaper, this development follows a recent report that textile imports rose to N814.27bn in the first nine months of 2025, despite the government’s promises to turn the sector around.

It noted that the upgrade is part of the Nigerian government’s internal plans to introduce tax breaks, establish a national textile training institute, and provide single-digit interest rate loans to revive the textile industry.

The report stated that the government is considering modernising 50 per cent of Nigeria’s operational textile capacity with state-of-the-art equipment within five years as part of a broader revitalisation agenda.

Meanwhile, data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that textile and textile article imports stood at N228.83bn in the first quarter of 2025, N337.12bn in the second quarter, and N248.32bn in the third quarter.

The reports quoted Industry operators as saying that the surge reflected policy failures, weak execution of credit initiatives, poor access to affordable finance, abandonment of promised institutional reforms, and structural challenges such as insecurity, weak cotton farming, and limited local polyester production.

Reacting to the plans, the Director-General of the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association, Hamma Kwajaffa, told the Punch newspaper that he welcomed the plans as a positive shift from previous government responses.

“The actionable plans under the recommendation are excellent,” he said. “Had we known that things were happening like this, I would have just told you that something was going on, but because it was not put on paper, these plans could not quickly reduce the textile import surge.”

GIK/APA