Textile import ban: Nigerian economy risks losing N7tn, 10m jobs – CPPE tells Senate

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises has said the Senate’s recent resolution to place a ban on textile imports will be doing more harm to the Nigerian economy than good. 

CPPE chief executive director, Dr Muda Yusuf disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. 

Recall that the Senate on June 9, 2026, made resolutions on the total ban on textile imports in a bid to revive the Nigerian textile industry. 

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Sunday Katung, representing Kaduna South, titled ‘urgent need to revive the textile industries in Nigeria with particular reference to the Kaduna-Kano Axis’. 

However, in a reaction on Sunday, CPPE said the resolutions posed serious risk to the country’s textile industry, valued at around N7 trillion and estimated to employ 10 million people. 

According to the economy-centric group, the move would disrupt millions of jobsalready provided in the textile industry. 

CPPE explained that the textile import ban proposition by the Senate addresses the symptom while leaving the underlying causes unresolved.

Yusuf noted that the real challenge of Nigeria’s textile industry is primarily the consequence of longstanding structural constraints rather than import competition, including high energy costs, expensive credit, poor infrastructure, logistics bottlenecks, obsolete technology, smuggling, weak access to long-term finance and policy inconsistency.

“The industry is valued at an estimated N7 trillion. The industry provides livelihoods for an estimated ten million Nigerians and is one of the country’s most vibrant creative economy sectors. 

“A supply disruption would increase production costs and weaken the competitiveness of the sector.

“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,” CPPE stated.