The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the Nigerian Government to turn the Nigeria First Policy into law to boost the manufacturing sector.
The Director-General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, told the 2025 BusinessDay Manufacturing Conference held in Lagos on Thursday that gazetting the procurement policy will ensure that it is implemented across all arms of government and the private sector.
‘Nigeria First’ is a procurement policy mandating Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies to prioritise locally made products in their budgetary allocations.
Ajayi-Kadir stated that manufacturing, which is burdened by high interest rates, can benefit from the policy when it is enforceable as law.
“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 said.
He warned that the Nigeria First policy risks going the way of past executive orders 003 and 005 that failed to make a tangible impact due to the absence of a formal legal framework.
“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 added.
Bemoaning the challenges manufacturers face.in Nigeria, he stressed that 767 manufacturing companies shut down operations in 2023 alone, while over 18,000 jobs were lost in 2024.
According to him, rising costs, policy inconsistencies, infrastructural decay, and currency depreciation have made the manufacturing sector nearly unviable.
GIK/APA