Stakeholders across various sectors have expressed strong support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent ban on foreign goods, highlighting its potential to strengthen local industries such as Dangote Refinery and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, amid Nigeria’s challenging economic landscape.
The endorsement follows a decision by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), led by President Tinubu, to prohibit federal ministries, departments, and agencies from purchasing foreign goods or services—a move aimed at bolstering the nation’s economy through the newly introduced “Nigeria First Policy.”
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the initiative on Monday, stating that the policy is central to the government’s economic strategy, particularly in promoting industrialisation and reducing dependence on imports. He also revealed that the Attorney General has been directed to draft an Executive Order to give the policy legal force.
Economic experts and business leaders, including Muda Yusuf of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Gbolade Idakolo of SD & D Capital Management, and Billy Gillis-Harry of PETROAN, voiced their approval in separate interviews with DAILY POST.
Yusuf urged the government to extend the policy to all levels—including states—and to include foreign services in the ban. He emphasized the importance of supporting local products and services, noting that it would generate jobs, boost GDP, and conserve foreign exchange. “There is no reason we should still be importing furniture or generic drugs,” he said, calling for broader trade protections to support Nigerian manufacturers.
Idakolo echoed these sentiments, describing the policy as a potential “game changer.” He explained that it could ease pressure on the naira, decrease the nation’s reliance on foreign exchange for imports, and solidify Nigeria’s recent trade surplus. “If properly implemented, this could help sustain our positive trade balance and strengthen the economy in 2025,” he said.
Similarly, Gillis-Harry, President of the Petroleum Products Retail Owners Association of Nigeria, hailed the decision as transformational. Calling it “the best news” he had heard in decades, he urged nationwide compliance and called on Nigerians at all levels to embrace the policy. “This could mark the beginning of Nigeria’s rise as a global economic power,” he asserted.
All three stakeholders stressed that effective implementation and national commitment are critical to the policy’s success.
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