By Monsurat Abisoye
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has cautioned that the Senate’s proposal to ban textile imports could have adverse effects on Nigeria’s economy and the textile sector.
In a statement on Sunday, CPPE Chief Executive Director, Dr Muda Yusuf, reacted to the Senate’s June 9, 2026 resolution calling for a total ban on textile imports to revive the domestic textile industry, particularly along the Kaduna-Kano axis. The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Sunday Katung, who represents Kaduna South.
According to the CPPE, the proposed ban poses significant risks to Nigeria’s textile industry, which is estimated to be worth about N7 trillion and provides livelihoods for around 10 million Nigerians.
Yusuf argued that the proposal addresses only the symptoms of the industry’s decline while ignoring its underlying challenges. He identified the sector’s major problems as high energy costs, expensive credit, inadequate infrastructure, logistics constraints, obsolete technology, smuggling, limited access to long-term financing and policy inconsistency.
He warned that disrupting the supply chain through an import ban could increase production costs and further weaken the competitiveness of the industry.
The CPPE maintained that the textile sector’s difficulties stem primarily from poor competitiveness rather than import penetration. It therefore called for structural reforms, including measures to improve productivity, reduce production costs, revive cotton production, expand access to affordable finance and leverage government procurement policies to stimulate demand for locally produced textiles.