By Akinnodi Francis, Ondo

Economic experts have urged the Federal Government to encourage the patronage of locally made products as part of the “Nigeria First” policy to enhance the country’s product competitiveness amidst rising imports.

The Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, speaking on a national television programme monitored by The Hope, stated that the Nigeria First Policy must be established as a binding law to promote local competitiveness.

Speaking on the theme, “Unlocking Nigeria’s Manufacturing Potential: Strategies for Sustainable Growth Amid Economic Turbulence,” Ajayi-Kadir said, “This is critical to give the policy legal standing, ensuring transparency, public awareness, and enforceability across government institutions and the private sector.”

According to him, legal consequences should be enforced for violators. “There should be repercussions for any CEO or head of an organisation that fails to comply.”

However, support must go both ways. He insisted that the government, alongside private players, must support local content and value chain development.

He warned that failing to nurture the domestic industry would leave the nation “forever at the mercy of others.”

The Hope reports that President Bola Tinubu recently unveiled the Renewed Hope Nigeria First Policy, a procurement directive that compels all federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to prioritise Nigerian-made goods and services in public spending.

Also, a manufacturer, Adewole Adebayo, emphasised that Nigeria must move from recommendations to actual implementation by incentivising backward integration and enforcing local content policies to enhance domestic sourcing and strengthen industrial linkages.

Adebayo told The Hope that by prioritising and actively supporting locally made goods, consumers help stimulate demand for domestic products, encourage increased manufacturing, and serve as a springboard for exports with reduced rejection rates.

He affirmed that a favourable market at home would lead to global recognition.

He stated that resilience and sustainability in local content, such as investing in the production of made-in-Nigeria cigarettes for export within Africa, could consequently generate foreign exchange without reliance on banks.

“It is important that the government looks at the current environmental context of Nigeria to ensure that Nigerian-made goods are competitive and can generate the needed forex. This will bring investor confidence.”

However, achieving this ambition will not come easy, economist Taiwo Owoeye said.

Owoeye identified several significant factors hindering the local patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products, including low consumer purchasing power and the influx of cheap, adulterated, substandard, and smuggled goods.

He linked the increase in unsold finished goods to low consumer purchasing power, alongside high inflation and rising production costs.

He explained that when individuals have limited disposable income, they are less likely or able to purchase goods, which directly impacts the demand for locally produced items.