Nigeria: Stakeholders, Govt Divided Over Framework to Revive Nigeria's Textile Industry

What the report says

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s cotton, textile and garment sector are warning that efforts to revive the industry are being slowed by disagreement over which institution should coordinate the recovery. According to Daily Trust, the dispute centres on whether the sector should be led by a Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Board approved by the National Economic Council in April 2025, or by a Development Council under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

The article says farmers, processors, manufacturers and other operators are concerned about falling cotton output, idle ginneries, distressed textile mills and rising reliance on imported fabrics. It reports that some stakeholders believe the value chain is too broad to sit under one ministry because it depends on agriculture, finance, trade, planning and state-level coordination. A development specialist quoted in the piece said the debate is now about governance and institutional leadership, not just reopening mills.

Daily Trust also reports that the ministry supports a single national coordinating body but disagrees over its structure, legal basis and supervisory arrangement. The ministry said a harmonisation process is under way through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. It also pointed to broader recovery measures, including work on policy reform, financing, inputs and industry support.

The report places the dispute in the context of a long decline in a sector that once employed large numbers of people and supported major cotton production. Industry problems cited include cheap imports, smuggling, weak power supply, high costs, limited credit and shrinking domestic cotton supply.