The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the Federal Government to introduce annual local content benchmarks for government procurement in key sectors such as automobiles, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and agro-processing.
MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, made the appeal in Lagos on Thursday during the 5th Adeola Odutola Lecture and Presidential Luncheon held as part of the association’s 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM).
He said such a framework would ensure government agencies prioritize Made-in-Nigeria products, stimulate domestic production, and strengthen the country’s industrial base.
Meshioye explained that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector is currently operating in “a very challenging environment” worsened by weak enforcement of local patronage policies and continued dependence on imports.
According to him, “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 utilization and serial underperformance.”
The MAN President further urged the government to penalise MDAs that fail to meet local content targets and reward those that exceed them. He noted that previous Executive Orders 003 and 005, which sought to promote local patronage, failed because they lacked clear enforcement mechanisms and consequences for non-compliance.
He emphasized that the ‘Nigeria First’ policy, which formed the theme of this year’s AGM “, Nigeria First: Prioritising Patronage of Made in Nigeria” is not just an industrial ambition but a matter of national economic survival.
“We must back the Nigeria First policy with legislation and enforce it across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Compliance should be tied to performance metrics monitored by the National Bureau of Procurement,” Meshioye said.
Meshioye noted that despite Nigeria’s rebased GDP of $244 billion (N372.82 trillion), the share of manufacturing in the economy has declined, signaling “a bigger but less productive and less industrialised economy.”
“The rebasing confirms that Nigeria’s economy is bigger, but less productive and less industrialised,” he said, warning that without deliberate industrial policies, the country risks deepening its dependence on imports and losing the opportunity to create sustainable jobs.
He stressed that prioritizing domestic production through annual local content benchmarks would help Nigeria save foreign exchange, drive innovation, and create a resilient economic structure.
“If we do not intentionally support our own manufacturers, we will not be able to compete globally. The ‘Nigeria First’ policy is about building national resilience, creating jobs at home, saving foreign exchange, and giving Nigeria the productive foundation it needs to be competitive globally,” Meshioye said.
Announcing the Nigeria First policy in May this year, the Presidency had declared that the Federal Government would bar all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) from procuring foreign goods and services where local alternatives exist.