No More Foreign Goods: FG Announces Ban on Importation of Goods Nigerians Can Produce

• President Bola Tinubu has introduced a policy to strengthen Nigeria’s domestic economy by barring MDAs from procuring foreign goods or services available locally
• The policy, called the Renewed Hope Nigeria First Policy, aims to foster a business culture that benefits local industries and reduces dependence on imports
• To enforce this, an Executive Order will be drafted, and the BPP will revise procurement rules, create a compliance mechanism, and maintain an updated database of Nigerian suppliers

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

In a bid to strengthen Nigeria’s domestic economy and promote local content, President Bola Tinubu has initiated a policy that bars the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) from procuring foreign goods or services already available locally, without a written waiver from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

This comes as the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Monday, gave its approval to the new policy framework that places the country at the center of all public procurement and business activity, with a strong emphasis on empowering local industries and reducing dependency on foreign imports.

The new policy, tagged the Renewed Hope Nigeria First Policy, seeks to foster a new business culture that is bold, confident, and distinctly Nigerian.

Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the fifth cabinet meeting in 2025, presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, explained that the new policy is designed to ensure the country promotes homegrown products.

The Minister described the policy as a bold shift in the country’s economic approach, which mirrors U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” doctrine.

He said:

“This policy seeks to foster a new business culture that is bold, confident, and very Nigerian. It aims at making government investment directly benefit our people and industries by changing how we spend, how we procure, and how we build our economy.”

More on executive orders

Idris said that the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, has been directed to draft an Executive Order to give full legal effect to the new framework.

According to him:

“The Nigeria First policy is expected to become the cornerstone of the administration’s economic strategy, especially as the government pushes forward with its industrialisation agenda and import-substitution goals.”

He enumerated the decisions that were approved by the Council which will be enforced immediately

Procurement officers currently deployed to various MDAs will be reverted to the BPP to ensure compliance and reduce undue influence or corruption.

US govt protests import bans on 25 products by Nigerian govt

Legit.ng reported that the United States Trade Representative (USTR), an agency of the United States government, has slammed Nigeria for imposing an import ban on 25 product categories.

The USTR raised concerns that the restrictions were hurting US exporters and undermining trade relations.

In a post shared on X, the USTR listed Nigeria’s import policy among the top 10 unfair trade practices by foreign governments.

Source: Legit.ng